Playing with Fire
by itsmyownlife
Summary: When diplomacy specialist Lt. Adea Uhura was assigned to the USS Enterprise, she knew the only way forward would be to let go of her past. If only she'd learned not to play with fire the first time. Slightly AU, Following the films [Bones/OC]
1. Preface

**Preface**

Adea woke to the rustling of blinds against the open window. She turned towards the wall, frowning as the blue numbers projected onto the wall came into focus. _5:48. _

"Fucking hell."

_Would it kill her to remain asleep twelve precious minutes? _She exhaled slowly through her teeth, the sheets beside her rustling as a tanned arm trailed its way around her waist. The brief desire to fall back asleep faded as Adea's attention snapped to warm pressure against her thigh as he pulled himself closer to her. She arched her back slowly pressing her hips closer his. The grip around her waist tightened as he groaned, his lips brushing the skin beneath her ear. Adea smirked at display on the wall. _Maybe mornings weren't the worse. _

"What time is it?" he mumbled, planting small kisses along her neck.

"Almost six," she replied, groaning as he trailed his tongue along her jaw,"I have a lecture at eight."

"Skip it."

She laughed softly as she trailed her fingers along his hip towards the sheets separating them, brushing her knuckles against the bulge through the sheets, the move soliciting a low growl.

"I can't," she sighed, "Guest lecturer today."

"Is that so?" he whispered, kissing her shoulder.

"Mm," she replied, "Some big shot from the Starship Enterprise."

"Really?" He drawled, rolling her to face him as a mischievous glint flickered in his dark green eyes, "Do I know him?"

Adea ran a hand through his uncharacteristically messy hair, her thumb stroking the dark stubble across his jaw. Worries of her impending alarm slipped away as he leaned in slowly, his lips meeting hers. He cupped her face gently, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue traced her bottom lip, his hands wandering down her back as he pulled her hips towards his. A moan escaped her lips as he began trailing kisses down her neck, her hand nearly untangling the sheets between them when the shrill tone of the alarm clock burst through the room.

"I hate that damn thing," he muttered, pressing the snooze button as he turned back to Adea, brushing him thumb across her cheek as he kissed her again.

"I have to get up," she groaned, pulling away slowly, "I'm going to be late."

"You've been late before," he whispered again her collarbone, planting kisses along her neck.

"I was late to class once," she corrected, "And it was your fault."

"I don't recall," he mused innocently, his fingers trailing along the inside of her thigh.

"Don't even start," she warned.

"Start what?" he drawled, pausing his hand as his fingers continued to draw circles against her skin.

"You're a bad influence," she admonished, kissing him quickly before rolling to sit on the edge of the bed.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand, waving her hand across the screen to read through her notifications. _Two alerts for a deadline she'd already met last week. Class today from 0800 to 1300. Training session at the gym at 1600. To-do: create the outline for next month's Planetary Surveying course. _Adea made her way towards the bathroom, collecting the stray garments she'd left strewn across the floor the night before. She paused in front of the sink, dampening a towel before wiping at the mascara rings beneath her eyes

"What time do you need to leave?" he called out.

"I still need to review for the lecture," she replied, "I brought my book with me, so I should have an hour or so to read. Lee, could you-"

"Coffee, one sugar, no cream," he smirked, sitting white mug on the bathroom counter.

"Thank you," she smiled, welcoming the much needed caffeine into her system.

He took a sip from his own mug, contemplating if the sight of his shirt barely covering her was more distracting than the knowledge there was nothing under it. He exhaled slowly, ignoring growing strain in the front of his pants as he glanced down at his watch. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. _Anymore of these thoughts, and he'd find a creative way to make them both late. _

"The last bus to be at campus before 8 leaves at 7:21, Adi," he announced, walking back to kitchen.

Adea smirked in the response taking a last sip of her coffee before stepping into the shower, a buzz racing down her spine as the water hit her shoulders.

* * *

Adea pulled on her red cadet jacket, adjusting the silver Starfleet pennant as she inspected her final appearance. _Mascara, applied. Under eyes circles, covered. Neck marks..._Adea turned her head to the light for a final check…_.like they were never there. _

As she left the apartment, Adea looked every bit the woman she'd been groomed to be. _No hair out of place, uniform pressed, textbooks packed safely in her bag, decorated with yellow reading notes._ From the day she had been born, she had been raised to be a future leader in the Federation. Her parents had insisted on militaristic precision and perfection in everything she did, all to render her the consummate Starfleet candidate. _Fencing lessons. Judo lessons. Language Tutors. Physics extra-credit. Competing and compared in in nearly every subject to her despotic perfectionist sister. _All of this, so at the end of the day, Adea could be the perfect person everyone else expected her to be.

There was nothing Adea hated more than behind called perfect. Nonetheless, she endured it, portraying the same unfaltering facade she always had. All the while, she counted down the days until the she would be free to make her own name for herself. She'd already distanced herself as much as she could from her family's name and legacy. At the Academy, she had registered herself with family's lesser known second name. She never mentioned her family, and as far as anyone was concerned, she was the only child of some unimportant family they'd never heard of.

For the most part, it had worked. Few if any knew she was related to her sister and even fewer knew who her parents were. It wasn't foolproof though. Every now and then she got a sideways glance. A double take, when recognition flickered. It was a miracle _he_ hadn't noticed, even after she'd lied about her lack of siblings. She hated to draw a comparison between herself and her sister, but even she couldn't deny the resemblance at times. She had her father's hazel eyes, but like her sister, she took strongly after their mother. Same hair, same almond eyes, same stature, though she stood a few inches shorter than her sister.

Adea exhaled slowly as she closed the door to his apartment, checking her watch quickly as she made her way to the bus. Resemblance or not, it didn't matter. She planned to be long gone before word got out that the littlest Uhura had joined Starfleet.

* * *

The quarter til chimes sounded over the campus as she entered the lecture hall, making her way the front. It surprisingly full for fifteen minutes before class, no doubt due to today's lecture. Adea had barely sat her books down when Commander Willis, the course's usual lecturer, began hobbling towards her. On any given day, she would have rather faced torture at the hands of the Klingons than hear him drone on. But he was well connected and a good reference, so she suppressed the urge to frown as he greeted her exuberantly, instead smiling brightly.

"Adea, perfect timing," he croaked, gesturing for her to join him, "I wanted to introduce you to our guest lecturer before the talk begins."

She followed him slowly towards the edge of the stage, her eyes falling on the blue uniformed shoulders of their guest as he sat, reviewing his notes.

"Excuse me, Doctor-This is the student I was telling you about," the professor buzzed, "Cadet Adea Ele. Top of her class, and already on track for her first assignment in deep space. I thought I simply must introduce you two."

He turned now to Adea, placing his hand on her shoulder as he nudged her forward "Adea, this is-"

"Dr. Leonard McCoy," the man drawled, extending his hand as he stood to face her.

She glanced down at his outstretched hand, smiling slowly as she met his eyes.

"Cadet Adea Ele," she replied curtly, shaking his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Well, Adi" he drawled, a playful glint in his handsome eyes, "The pleasure's all mine."

* * *

**This is the first of the rewritten chapters to be published, from the original chapter one. Let me know what you think so far. More edits to come very soon. Always yours, Case. **


	2. Introductions

**Author's Note: **This story is lightly AU in its timeline, taking place after the first of the Star Trek Films. While it will follow the events of the second and third films, there are a few events that are not quite canon, one notable deviation being that the Romulan mission was one of the earliest but not the first mission that the (main characters) crew of the Enterprise participated in together. There is more to be seen and explained in the chapters to come.

**Disclaimer: **(Most of these) characters and worlds are not mine. etc. etc. etc.

**Read, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! **

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**Two Years Later (Present: Stardate 2258) **

"A coffee, please," Adea smiled, taking in the view of the San Francisco from the office. It had been two years since she been in this headquarters and things couldn't have gone more according to plan: a success Bachelor's, the Adair fellowship, and a prestigious research position aboard the USS Constitution. Now here she was, standing in office of none other than-

"Vice-admiral Marcus," she greeted, standing at attention, "Sir, it is an honor."

"Please, Adea," He replied, taking his place behind the desk, "It's nice to finally put a face to the work. Besides, Carol won't shut up about you. I take it Cadet O'Ryan bringing you something?"

"Yes sir, " she nodded, smoothing the front of her uniform as she sat.

She had met Carol Marcus at the start of her studies, when they were assigned as roommates in the same cadet dorm. To say they were fast friends would be a lie. Equal parts determination and stubborn, they'd nearly killed each other in their first year living assignment. It wasn't until Porter's Romulan Negotiations term paper and late study nights in their living room that they had slowly become friends. While they bonded over a love of cheap wine and bad dating choices, it was the degree to which they understood each other that brought them closer: _A desire to be acknowledged for their own success, distinct from a family who viewed good as never good enough; A glaring lack of friends from their perpetual studying, all in pursuit of academic success; The the polished perfection that hid the stress of maintaining a facade to everyone around them. _For the first time in each of their lives, they were not alone, and they'd been inseparable ever since.

"Now I spend could hours going on about your research, how its helped our defense strategy, top of your class with honors," he stated, "I mean, I wouldn't expect any less of an Uhura."

_No wonder Carol went by her mother's name. _If Marcus noticed Adea's smile falter he didn't show it.

"Now let me get straight to the point," he continued, "I'm giving you top level clearance to join a one year mission in deep space. I need you to explore and observe the planets and species you encounter. For each I want you to report on their societies: government structure, scientific advancements, politics, defense capabilities, everything. I want a preliminary diplomacy strategy for each. I take it you're up for the assignment?"

"Sir, I-" her mind was racing.

_Starfleet's high command was addressing her personally, about an assignment, in deep space. Top level clearance. Diplomacy._ _Off-world. _She'd been off-world before for her fellowship, but not like this. In that assignment, she'd spent nearly two years buried in theory, fending off the weird advances from her research partner. _No decisions of her own. Always mundane. Never uncharted._ A coffee cup clinked down gently onto desk in front of her. She mumbled a thank you as the cadet left, her hands smoothing her uniform skirt again.

"Sir, it be an honor," she stated finally, her mind racing with questions. She'd already heard talk of new recruitments for the U.S.S. Bradbury's new assignment. _Hell, she'd applied the moment she heard about it_, "When would I start?"

"One week should be enough time to get your affairs in order," Marcus answered, leaning back to take a sip from his own coffee, "We'll send someone to handle the move from your flat. You can contact my assistant about the rest. Report to the launch dock next Wednesday morning at 0800 hours. Launch is at 1200."

"And the ship, sir?" she questioned, picking up her own coffee cup. _Apparently the Bradbury's living quarters had just been refurbished_. At least that what Carol had told her when they met for lunch last week. She snapped back to the room as someone knocked on the office door.

"Ah, perfect timing. Come in," Marcus answered, gesturing behind her.

Adea clinked her glass clumsily against the desk as the man answered, a droplet spilling on her skirt as she nearly swore out loud. _Fucking hell. _

She knew that damn drawl.

* * *

**Five years earlier (Stardate 2253)**

Adea welcomed the rush of cool air, letting the metallic door of the club clank shut. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail off her neck, walking slowly towards the the railing encircling the rooftop. She'd let her roommate Carol convince her that a night out would be a healthy break from her typical Friday night studying. While the club itself wasn't as bad as she'd imagined, the heels Carol lent her definitively were. When an impossibly talkative fourth year caught Carol's eyes, Adea had ceased the opportunity to step away, sneaking past the 'closed' sign in front of the stairwell to make her way onto the bar's summer terrace on the roof. She fiddled uncomfortably with the hem of her dress, struggling to pull it down further. Her dress was one of the many reasons she hated clubs. _Too loud. Too hot. Too many people. Uncomfortable shoes. Dress hems that wouldn't stay put. _Adea huffed loudly as she kicked off her heels, sagging heavily against the railing.

"You too?"

Adea jumped as she turned towards the voice, blushing violently as she caught sight of the man leaning against the bar counter.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he drawled earnestly, running a hand through his dark disheveled hair.

He walked towards her slowly, gesturing to the railing next to her, "May I?"

She nodded, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear as he leaned against the railing beside her. He was dressed casually in a dark green jacket, the front of his grey t-shirt tucked behind the silver buckle of his belt. Without her shoes, he stood nearly head taller than herself, the top of her head barely reaching his broad shoulders. Adea's cheeks ran hot as looked up, meeting his dark eyes.

"Enough fun for one evening?" he teased, flashing her a handsome lopsided smirk as he nodded towards her heels.

"You caught me," she mused quietly, nervously crossing her arms. _Of course he had to be handsome. _

"I'm not really one for crowded clubs," she admitted quickly, "Too loud. Too many people. Too many close talkers splashing their drinks on you. As bad as it sounds, I'd rather be home studying."

"A woman after my own heart," he smirked, a playful glint in his green eyes, "I'm Leonard."

"Adea," she replied, shaking his extended hand.

"Adea," he repeated slowly, smiling again, "It's beautiful name. Are you part of Starfleet?"

"What else?" she laughed, "I'm not sure there's much else near Fort Baker."

"Got a point there," he smirked, "So where are you stationed?"

"Oh," Adea replied slowly, a slow burn rising to her cheeks, "I'm still studying."

"Ah," he replied quickly, regretting his response as she took a nervous step back.

They sat in silence for moment as Adea stared out over the city, quietly tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked down towards her shoes, contemplating if she should return to find her roommate when he spoke up again.

"What do you study?" he asked suddenly, leaning towards her again.

"Xenopolitics and Exobiology," she replied slowly, watching his eyebrows knit in confusion, "Planetary and species classification. Federation diplomacy. New planet integration."

"And here I thought I was fancy for having studied medicine," he laughed, "They only take fifteen students a year for Xenopolitics."

"Yes. All for the prestigious honor of being chained to a library desk studying theory for three years," Adea admitted, "I almost did medicine."

"Is that so?" he mused, "And?"

"Not the biggest fan of blood" she laughed, staring out over the San Francisco skyline, "I think that makes for a lousy doctor."

"You get used it at some point," he shrugged, "I joined Starfleet and I hate flying in space."

"You hate flying?" she repeated slowly.

"Mm," he nodded, frowning, "Space is just a painful death waiting to happen."

"And you still joined?" she asked incredulously.

"Sometimes the great things in life come from doing the things that scare us," he replied, smiling back at her, "Like right now. Imagine where you'd be if you didn't ignore that closed sign. Inside screaming a question at someone you can't half hear over the music? Trying to dance in those heels that, if I'm frank with you, look more like a murder weapon than a shoe? Here is quiet. There's fresh air. Good conversation. A beautiful view of downtown San Francisco. Warm weather for October."

"You call this warm?" she mused, goosebumps forming on her arms as the wind blew.

"Are you cold?" he asked suddenly, pulling off his jacket.

Adea stared back at him, her heart beating loudly in her ears her eyes trailed down his chest, from the silver pendant around his neck to the tanned muscles of his forearms. _Why couldn't he wrap those around her? _She swallowed he extended his arm, her thoughts snapping back to the rooftop as he held his jacket out to her.

"Have my jacket, Adea," he offered.

"You don't have to do that," she replied quickly, biting her lip as he smiled at her, "It's not that cold yet."

"I'm just using your words," he repeated, his smirk turning down in a mock frown, "Please, take it."

"I made the mistake of going out without a jacket," she argued, smirking up at him defiantly.

"Well you also made the mistake of getting cold in front of a southern gentleman," he teased quietly, holding out his coat again, "I insist."

Adea let out a defeated exhale as she inclined her head. He swung the jacket around her shoulders, his hand brushing her cheek as he adjusted the collar. She blushed, her corners of her mouth twitching upwards into smile as she took in the warm scent of cologne from the jacket.

"Better isn't it?" he smirked, "Snug as a bug in a rug."

Adea's heart raced as she looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat as her phone buzzed suddenly in her purse. She flashed an apologetic smile, taking a shaky step back from him as she pulled it out, glancing down at the notifications from Carol on her screen.

**CAROL! (11:24): whtre are youuuu? **

**CAROL! (11:46): ? **

**CAROL! (11:53): I would leave soon I'm slepy. Where are youuuuuu?**

Adea exhaled loudly, returning her phone to her purse as she begin putting on her heels.

"Everything alright?" he asked, a wrinkle forming between his brows as he raised them in concern.

"Roommate," she replied, frowning at Carol's timing.

"Is she ok? " he asked softly,

"She's fine, I think," Adea sighed, "I have to go find her and make sure she gets home alright."

She reached up to remove his jacket, stopping as he reached forward, placing his hand over hers.

"Keep it for tonight," he insisted, brushing his thumb across her knuckles as he slowly removed his hand, "It'll still be cold out until you get home. How are you getting there?"

Adea glanced down as her phone buzzed several times, retrieving it from her purse again.

**CAROL! (11:55): wheree?.**

**CAROL! (11:55): I thinj Im tipsy**

"Taxi," she replied decidedly, putting away her phone away. She glanced towards the door to the rooftop, the thought of leaving stirring a faint pang of regret in her chest.

"So is this like a movie now?" Adea mused, turning back to him, "I am supposed to wait here every evening until you return for your jacket?"

"I wouldn't mind," he smirked, accompanying towards the door to the terrace, "But I think room 142 in the med school is a bit more practical, what with all those hours you need for Xenopolitics studies and all."

"I'll have to see," Adea quipped innocently, raising her eyebrows, "Now that I have it on, it _is _quite comfortable. Very warm. I'm not sure I want to give it back."

"Oh now you want it?" he drawled in a low voice.

"Very tempting," she teased, "But I guess I'll do the right thing and bring it back to 142."

He shook his head slowly, letting out a low laugh as he stared down at her. _This girl was something else. _He opened the door regretfully, gesturing for her enter first.

"Well, for when you can't hear me anymore inside," he continued smirking, following her into the stairwell, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Adea."

"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Leonard," Adea replied slowly, sending him a final smile before she descended the stairs, disappearing into crowd.

* * *

**Present (Stardate 2258)**

She focused hard on the desk in front of her, anything not to notice the man now seated next to her. The conversation blurred as Marcus elaborated on the mission and Adea wasn't sure if she felt closer to being sick or running out of the vice-admiral office. _Marcus couldn't be serious_. For the next year, she would be assigned to the USS Enterprise, as it conducted an observation mission on deep space. Her sister Nyota would be serving as chief communications officer, and she would be Adea's support for linguistic translation. Her tasks would consist of compiling information from the various disciplines, working closely with the director of the ship's lab, its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard fucking McCoy.

"I'll let the Doctor here update you on the specifics of the lab," the Vice-admiral concluded, the scrape of his chair yanking Adea's thoughts back to the room, "Glad you'll be joining us, Lieutenant Ele."

The room fell painfully silent as the door snapped shut behind him. If McCoy was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. She stared back at him, the cold weight in the pit of her stomach intensifying. She could have sworn he smirked at her reaction as he stood methodically, walking towards the window with his hands behind his back.

"Lee-"

"Vice-admiral Marcus gave you the general picture," he interrupted, pausing to distractly lift a book laying on the windowsill, "You'll report next Wednesday at 0800 hours. I'll see to it one of the ensigns finds time to give you a tour. It's a standard lab. First drafts of all science reports in the lab are turned in Wednesdays for review and are finalized on Fridays by noon."

"Lee, can we talk?"

He answered her question by pausing to flip through the first few pages of the book.

"The workings and schedule of the lab shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out," he baited, "Being an Uhura and all."

"Are you done now?" Adea snapped, as she stood. It took every ounce of her self control to ignore the burning urge that begged her to snatch the book from his hands and fling it across the room. _Could he just look at her? _

"That should be all," he drawled nonchalantly, clapping the book shut.

He had begun pacing to the door when he paused, turning towards her.

"Oh and Lieutenant Ele" he offered, his calm mask slipping as he came to a stop a few inches from her,"If you do decide to fuck off and leave the mission before it starts, please give us a heads up. You know, common courtesy and all."

As the words reached her, she could see it now: the anger, the hurt, the loathing burning in his eyes as he glared down at her. She wanted desperately to retort but the words caught in her throat, acutely aware of how close they now stood. His earlier indifference made her want to scream, but at least it had not cut like the way he looked at her now. _The way he'd looked at her ever since. _

"Lee, I-" she stuttered, but he was already gone, the door clacking shut behind him.

* * *

**Confession Time: **

**1\. ****This is the second of the rewritten chapters. It features better editing, a new section, and people who improperly dress themselves for clubs in fall!**

**2\. Let me know what you think ! I am interested to hear what you think about the rewrite and the characters thus far. I am also interested to hear what you all would like to know. Rewrite of later chapters in still in progress ;)**

**3\. Thank you readers for you interest and commentary thus far. **

**Live long and Prosper! **

**Case**


	3. Firsts

**Present **

* * *

Adea rolled to the edge of the bed, her eyes adjusting to the light of her PADD as she pulled it closer.

**Notifications: **

\- Alarm set for 6:00 (14 minutes remaining)

\- Report to Dock set for today at 08:00. Travel is light. It will take 1 hour to arrive.

\- 3 new text notifications from Nyota NewNumber

\- 4 new text notifications from Carol!

Adea frowned, waving her finger across the screen to open her texts as she sat up slowly.

**Nyota NewNumber (9:27pm): **I checked and they made an error on your assignment documents. I had them change it. It should be ready for when you board. You don't need to pick them up again. If they ask you about it, just tell them I handled it.

**Nyota NewNumber (9:58pm): **You can't be late tomorrow.

**Nyota NewNumber (4:46am): **Don't be late, Adea.

Adea let out a slow exhale, massaging her temples. No congratulations. No well wishes. No offer to help move. _Just don't fuck something up. _Adea had barely talked to her sister since she had joined at the Academy, their sole interactions limited to times Nyota single-handedly determined it was necessary to intervene on her sister's behalf. _Like arguing to change Adea's term paper grade during her first year. _Her sister's self-righteousness knew no bounds, no matter what it complicated or who it hurt.

Adea sighed, swiping her finger over the PADD to the next conversation.

**CAROL! (10:21pm): **Hey, I know you're busy, but if you want to talk I'm here for you. Can't wait to see you tomorrow. PS. The dream team will be reunited.

**CAROL! (10:25pm): **If you want to travel there together, we can meet beforehand?

**CAROL! (5:45 am): **Rise and shine gorgeous! Can't wait until launch.

**CAROL! (5:52 am):** Changed my mind. Couldn't wait until launch. Hot coffee arriving in 30.

_Hot coffee, _Adea smiled, shaking her hair out of its messy bun. _At least there was that. _Carol's last minute reassignment to Enterprise was a godsend. _Lord knows how else she was supposed to remain sane whilst confined to flying metal container with Nyota and McCoy for a year. _

Adea made her way to the shower, frowning slowly as she rolled up the sleeves of the oversized shirt she wore. She been aboard the USS Constitution when she'd refound his shirt in an unpacked box, the one he'd had given her ever time she'd complained about heating in his apartment. For a southern boy, Adea was amazed he could tolerate keeping his apartment so cold. _Something about stimulating melatonin production while sleeping, he'd argued._ She exhaled slowly through her nose, tossing it aside as she stepped into the shower. _Maybe one day she'd have the nerve to get rid of it._

* * *

**(Four years earlier, Stardate 2254)**

* * *

"Good lord, Sweetheart," McCoy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You know you can stop, right?"

_Six months into her thesis and Adea had already found herself stuck in writer's block. _She convinced herself that digging through the school's medical archives would give her a better insight into vaccination policies in the Omega Sagitarii system, but thus far, it had yielded nothing but rambling medical log entries. After nearly two weeks of pouring over old logs for material, she'd finally found something, only to mistakenly return the one entry worth citing to the library. _Perhaps in the end, losing her journal entry wasn't the worse. _She glanced up from work at McCoy, biting her tongue to suppress the smirk that tugged at corners of her mouth.

"I almost found it," Adea promised, flipping quickly through the old medical journal on his desk.

"You said that an hour ago," McCoy sighed, "You know there's a reason they close the archives at the school at on weekends."

"Well if you would like to help, it would go faster," Adea mused, "Isn't that why you offered to help me by supervising my thesis?"

"I have a better solution," McCoy proposed, standing slowly to rummage through a cabinet behind his desk.

Adea rolled her eyes, continuing to stare down at the journal, startling as an empty glass clinked onto the desk in front of her book. She glanced from the bottle to McCoy, taking in his mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Bourbon?" she mused, "Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one?"

"Like I said, a better solution," McCoy smirked filling their glasses.

She felt her cheeks growing hot as he settled into the chair besides her, his knee brushing hers. She knew she was better than school girl crushes. _Especially on superior officers who worked closely with her sister. _Though it wasn't the same sickening shock she'd felt piecing together that the Leonard she'd met was the very same that served aboard the USS Enterprise on her sister's crew, the fact still made her uneasy nearly a year later. _The last thing Adea wanted was another reason for Nyota to get involved her life. _

After she'd returned his jacket, Adea had spent the better half of a year avoiding him like the plague. It wasn't until months later, when McCoy caught her arguing with the staff over the medical library document access policy that they'd seen each other again. He'd intervened, claiming she was researching at his request to get her access to the medical library and archives. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as he'd offered to stay and help her, the conversation between them flowing easily. After weeks of helping her find material for her thesis research proposal, he'd offered to become her thesis advisor. She'd tried to convince herself it would be to the benefit of her research to work with him, hoping the added pressure of him becoming her supervisor would make the buzz in her chest every time she saw him go away. _Nearly six months of research later, and it had only gotten worse..._

"And?" McCoy mused, gauging her reaction slowly as she took a sip.

"I like it," Adea agreed, returning her glass to the table.

"See, Adi?" McCoy teased, "Good things happens when you take study breaks."

"Am I Adi now?" Adea questioned, raising her eyebrow slowly.

"A-de-a was a bit of a mouthful," McCoy sighed, faking a frown, "You can only ask "Are you done studying A-de-a?" so many times in one week."

"And Le-o-nard isn't?" Adea teased.

"Well, yes when you say like that it is," McCoy admitted, laughing, "Which is why no one does."

"It seems a bit unjust," Adea sighed.

"Unjust?" McCoy repeated.

"What do I call you?" Adea mused innocently, "You must have a nickname?"

"Nope, I'm not helping you there," McCoy affirmed, taking a sip from his glass.

"Surely throughout your lengthy career as a doctor and Starfleet officer, someone has given you a nickname?" Adea questioned.

"Did I mention bullshit flattery won't help either?" McCoy added.

"Len?" Adea tested.

"No."

"Lenny?"

"_No_."

"Leo?"

"_Hell_ no."

"Lee?"

"So you and my sister can team up and use the same nickname?" McCoy teased, leaning towards her, "No."

"So you're admitting Lee is a nickname of yours?" Adea smirked.

"I'm not admitting anything," McCoy stated.

"Whatever you say, Lee," Adea replied innocently, her laugh falling silent as she caught the look in his eye, "What is it?"

"What?" McCoy replied quietly.

"I don't know," Adea replied slowly, her cheeks flushing pink, "You're just staring at me."

"Well, Adi, people typically look at the people they're talking to," he teased.

"Not like that," she mumbled quickly, the heat rising to her cheeks intensifying as she realized she'd said it out loud.

"Then how do I look at you?" He replied slowly, his voice low.

Adea swallowed, her heartbeat echoing in her ears as she stared back at him.

"I-"

She'd barely opened her mouth to respond when he leaned forward suddenly, his warm lips brushing hers. She responded slowly to the kiss, leaning into him as her bottom lip slipped between his. It wasn't until Adea felt his hand against her knee that she snapped painfully back to the present. She pulled away from him abruptly, her heart pounding in her ears as she stared back at him.

"I-I should go," Adea mumbled quickly, avoiding his eyes as stood, picking up her bag.

"Adi," McCoy started quietly, "I-"

"It was a mistake," Adea concluded shakily, "It should have never happened."

* * *

**Present**

* * *

"Do you see those over there?" Carol explained, gesturing out the window as they made their way from the shuttlebay to the ship, "Those phaser banks are the first of their kind to be integrated into a defense system of a Constitution-class Federation Starship."

There was something about Carol in her element that made Adea smile. They arrived without incident at the shuttlebay, making their way to officer's boarding patrol. The last days had been a blur of organization, stress, and flashbacks to a relationship Adea would rather forget. Yet as Carol continued on about the external weapons system, Adea could not ignore the buzz of anticipation building in her chest as they approached the ship. She was going to be an officer on the USS Enterprise. _McCoy and Nyota be damned. _

Adea was pulled from her thoughts as her name echoed through the corridor.

"Lieutenant Ele!" The voice called again, its owner's footsteps clanging against the gangway as he ran to catch up to them, "Dr. Wallace!"

The curly haired man stopped running, wiping his flushed face as he gestured hectically. He glanced between the images of Carol and Adea on his PADD screen, mumbling indecipherably before looking up at the two of them, extending his right hand in a greeting.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Carol questioned.

The man sighed loudly, repeating himself.

"Pavel Andreievich Chekov," he said, blushing slightly as they each shook his hand, "The Captain has requested zat I bring you, Lieutenant Ele and Dr. Wallace, directly ze Bridge."

Adea and Carol shared a glance and Adea nodded.

"Of course, Mr. Chekov," Adea replied, "Lead the way."

They turned back to the nearest entrance to the ship, Chekov pointing out various aspects of the ship as they walked. They walked for several minutes through a series of white panelled walls and elevators, arriving at the black sliding doors to the bridge. They entered slowly, the room buzzing loudly with activity as the crew members prepared the ship for launch. Adea glanced quickly around the room, taking in half-familiar faces as her mind honed onto a familiar disappointed tone.

"Adea! How did you get on the bridge?" Uhura questioned, shock tingeing the stern disapproval in her voice. She stood up from her post, concern drawing her lips into a tight line, "You supposed to report to Officers' quarters."

"Officers' quarters?" a loud voice repeated, "What type of welcome would that be to the newest and brightest members of the Enterprise? I mean, you expect _own sister_ to get a boring standard welcome?"

Adea suppressed a smirk, enjoying a mention of their relation that make her sister squirm for once. She could have sworn the captain smirked back he stood up abruptly from his chair, a mischievous glint flickering in his blue eyes as he sauntered excitedly towards Adea. _Captain James Tiberius Kirk. _His reputation preceded him. As devilishly handsome as he was brilliant, they said. Went from drunk bar fight to the Academy overnight, and finished his studies in three years. First captain to pass the Kobayashi Maru, albeit by hacking it. At that point the legends varied, but nonetheless they all converged on the same truth. As captain of the USS Enterprise, he managed to save the lives the ship's crew, including her sister's and McCoy's.

"Now I don't believe we have had the pleasure, Lieutenant Ele," he drawled, his flirty smirk reaching his blue eyes, "Jim Kirk."

"And Lieutenant Wallace," he mused, his smile flashing, "Great to have you, Doctor."

Adea bit her tongue to avoid laughing as Carol blushed. Uhura exhaled loudly. Half the women at the Academy had warned him about him. Event Uhura had felt the need to tell her not to sleep with him, when she'd learned of Adea's assignment.

"Captain, shouldn't they-" Uhura asserted, her annoyance growing.

"Lieutenant Uhura, don't you have a dock report to finalize," Kirk mused "Or something?"

Uhura mumbled something under the breath, turning slowly to her post as Kirk flashed them another smile.

"I do believe Lieutenant Uhura is correct in her observation," the Vulcan first officer replied, standing now.

Adea frowned, recognizing Commander Spock from her diplomatic strategy course. _Pompous asshole of a lecturer_. If his attitude alone didn't drive her resentment, her sister's fondness for him certainly did. _The Commander said this… Did you know the Commander did that…. Adea you should take this course with Commander Spock… _If her sister wasn't so high strung, Adea would have thought she sleeping with the man. _That'd be a pompous match made in heaven. _

"I am simply welcoming new crew members and dear family members," Kirk offered innocently.

"Starfleet Protocol 41086, Regulation 4 states new officers should report to -" Spock continued but Kirk waved him off as the doors to the bridge reopened.

"Bones!" Kirk called out, clapping a frowning McCoy on the back, "Perfect Timing! Mr. Spock, you can go back to you launch duties now."

Mr. Spock frowned, turning back to his console. Adea exhaled steadily, steeling her gaze. _At least this time she knew he'd be here. _A brief look of concern and recognition flashed in his eyes before he looked away annoyed, focusing his confused attention on Kirk.

"You wanted me on the bridge?" he answered slowly.

"These beautiful, intelligent women here, Lieutenant Ele and Dr. Wallace, have been assigned to USS Enterprise by Vice-admiral Marcus himself," Kirk announced, "They will be assisting us as we explore and observe uncharted space, with the mission of assessing the planets' potential for establishing diplomatic ties."

Kirk smirked, a mischievous glint flickering in his eye as he turned his gaze to Carol.

"Dr. Wallace, would you be so kind as to escort me on my final walkthrough before launch?" he asked smoothly, his eyebrows raised, "You can get acquainted with the weapons systems of my ship."

_My ship. _Adea resisted a snort while McCoy rolled his eyes. Carol raised her eyebrows at Adea, before nodding slowly.

"While I do that," Kirk continued, "Please be a southern gentleman, and escort Lieutenant Ele to her station in Enterprise's lab. I'm sure the Vice-Admiral briefed you, but she'll be working closely with you over the duration of the trip."

McCoy glanced sideways at Adea, opening his mouth to speak before closing it, his brow furrowing.

"When you're done, report back to the bridge for launch," Kirk concluded.

McCoy nodded curtly before exiting the bridge. Adea trailed him quietly to the elevator, exhaling slowly as the doors closed behind them. They sat in silence at the elevator descended, counting off the floors before slowing to a stop.

"_Shipwide scan has commenced. Please be patient. Requested floor will be reached upon completion of the scan." _

McCoy swore under his breath, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door. Adea frowned. _If he was going to be this hostile to her, she was going to be at her wit's end by the end of her first month on board._

"Look, I know the last place you want to be is assigned to a ship with me," Adea started slowly.

"Really Sweetheart? What makes you think that?" McCoy shot back sarcastically.

"Lee, I'm serious."

"Dr. McCoy," he correctly dryly.

"Are you serious right now?" she hissed, stepping towards him.

"Did you hear me laugh?" McCoy retorted

"Lee, I am sorry about what happened, but I cannot spend the next year stuck in this ship with you reliving this," Adea stated.

"Really?" he spat back, stepping towards her now, "I didn't realize it was so hard for you."

Adea's breath caught in her throat as she stared hard at him, her heart thudding heavily in her chest.

"I tried to talk to you," she breathed shakily, "But you didn't want to."

"_Scan complete. Elevator will now arrive at your requested floor."_

"I had better things to do than hear your sorry excuse," McCoy replied dryly.

"Damn it, Lee, then why the hell do you still care?" Adea snapped, taking a step towards him, "You wouldn't to talk me. You wouldn't answer me. When I went to your apartment, you slammed your door in my face. Two years of radio silence made it perfectly clear you didn't want anything to do with me. So what now ? You're just going to make my life miserable on this ship? Quips about fucking off without saying goodbye? Smart ass comments about sorry excuses? What do you want from me, Lee?"

"_Exit here for the Enterprise Laboratory."_

Adea stared back at McCoy panting as the elevator chimed loudly, the doors opening to the lab. For a moment he seemed to hesitate, an indiscernible expression flashing in his eyes as he took a step forward. As quickly as it had appeared, the emotion faded, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration as he turned methodically towards the door.

"The lab is this way," he stated coldly, pacing forward into the lab without a second glance.

* * *

**Confession time**

**1\. Third rewritten chapter is complete! More on the way soon!**

**2\. More flashbacks to come. I wanted to build a stronger basis of the characters and their relationships, particularly Adea's and McCoy's. **

**3\. Readers new and old, let me know what you think thus far. Input is always welcome. **

**Til next time, **

**live long and prosper - Case**


	4. War

**Two Years Earlier ****(Stardate 2256)**

* * *

_Fuck_.

Adea stared hard at the page, as if staring would somehow make the little black letters reorganize themselves. _There were 14 dialects of Brunali_. She frowned, pressing her chin into knee. She'd written twelve on the exam. She'd begun reaching for her study guide when the book in front of her snapped shut, a bottle clunking heavily onto her desk.

"Jesus-" she glanced from the unopened champagne bottle on her desk, her heart slowing as she looked up to her beaming roommate, "What the hell was that for?"

"You're reading a study guide for an exam you took two weeks ago," Carol scolded, "This is sad call for help, Cadet Ele."

"Car-"

"I'm confiscating these. You need to get a life," Carol continued, a smile spreading across her face as she snatched Adea's notes from her desk, "And right now, we need to drink."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Adea huffed.

"Absolutely not, A," Carol teased, tossing her purse onto her own bed as she removed her heels, "You're going to get what, a 99 out of 100?"

"97," Adea sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples. _She'd need to check one more response to be sure. _

"Exactly," Carol replied, stacking Adea's notes on the kitchen counter.

"Give it back Carol," Adea called out, frowning, "I'm serious. I need to finish this now. I have a meeting later this afternoon."

"You always have meetings of late," Carol sighed, making her way towards the kitchenette, "But today you will have to make an exception. We need celebrate."

Adea rotated in her chair to face Carol, raising an eyebrow as she took in the knowing smirk plastered across Carol's face.

"Carol, what are you up to?" Adea questioned, standing slowly.

"Me?" she cooed innocently, "I'm just get some water. _You_, however, should start packing your bags. Guess who I just heard will be receiving for the Aldair Fellowship."

"What?" Adea blinked, her breath catching in her throat.

Since she joined the academy, she'd been counting down the days until she could apply. A diplomacy relations masters programme in deep space, working closely with the Aldair system. It was her ticket off this world and the start to building her own distinguished career at StarFleet. She'd spend weeks meeting with her professors and advisors, looking for anyone who knew the committee well enough to get the completed Bachelor's programme requirement lifted. Adea had even resorted to asking her sister, in a brief call that lasted no longer than the previous four times they contacted each other whilst living and working on the same campus.

"Holy shit," Adea swore, nearly tripping over her chair as she stood, "What? When? I applied almost a year ago."

"Tonight at the senior class banquet," Carol cooed, fiddling with the foil of the champagne bottle, "I overheard my father's secretary this afternoon."

"I-when- I mean," Adea faltered, the cork popping, "I wasn't even planning on going to the banquet. I-what do I even wear?"

"You," Carol laughed, pushing the foaming bottle in to Adea's hands, "Need to drink before it ruins your precious textbooks. Let me worry about that."

Adea sighed, glancing at the clock.

"Fine," Adea relinquished, glancing at the champagne bottle, "One drink."

"Can't guarantee that," Carol smirked.

"I mean it, Car," Adea sighed, "I have a meeting later."

"Blah, blah, blah, excuses, excuses, excuses," Carol huffed.

"Car, I'm serious," Adea pressed.

"Fine," Carol agreed, "I'll try my best to keep you on schedule. Now will you drink?"

Adea sighed, giving in as she took a swig from the bottle. _One wouldn't hurt right?_

* * *

**Present**

* * *

"Ensign Becker, do you have-"

"Right here, Lieutenant Ele," the blond cadet offered, holding his PADD up to the screen, "The native species profile for Temeres."

Adea swiped her finger across the PADD, watching the text integrate itself into the blank section of the report on the holographic screen. _Two down._ _One more profile to go. _She smirked to herself, returning the PADD to Becker.

"We still need the-"

"The defense systems report," he concluded smiling,"I already asked. Dr. Wallace said it would be finished by tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning is too late," Adea sighed, crossing her arms, "We need it tonight,"

"Tonight?" he faltered, fumbling nervously as he scanned the notes on his PADD.

"Lab documents are submitted on Wednesdays," Adea stated.

"Oh," he stuttered, blushing fiercely, "I-I could have sworn it was Thursday. I mean, I can ask again, Lieutenant Ele. Should I do that?"

Adea raised an eyebrow.

"You asked already?" Adea repeated slowly.

"I asked when I was getting authorization to the lab archives like you told me too," Becker replied sheepishly, "Dr. McCoy said the submission date was Thursdays."

_Of course he'd fucking change the date. _

"I didn't catch that, Lieutenant, I'm sorry," Becker excused nervously, "Should I ask again?"

"No," Adea huffed decidedly, "I'll handle it. Please get the report from Carol for tomorrow then. You're dismissed."

Becker nodded, sharply exiting the lab as Adea stared after him. She turned slowly, her heart pounding in her ears as she turned her glare towards the blue uniform at the end of the medical bay. She tried to calm her breathing to no avail as she came to a stop behind him, inhaling sharply as she let her PADD clatter loudly onto his desk.

"Lab reports are submitted Thursdays?" Adea mused sternly.

McCoy's shoulders heaved slowly as he exhaled, closing the x-ray displayed on the screen in front of him as he turned towards Adea.

"Nurse Hayes, you can break now for lunch," he called out.

"I'll be back at 1400," she nodded, flashing a quick smile as she exited the room.

"You were saying?" McCoy continued, taking a step towards Adea.

"Wednesdays," Adea stated sternly, "You told me Wednesdays. So why is my Ensign telling me Thursdays?"

"The policy changed," McCoy shrugged, crossing his arms.

"That's the excuse you're going for?" Adea questioned.

"Seems like a communication problem between you and your Ensign," McCoy sighed,"Maybe if he stopped drooling over you for half a minute he'd manage to get a message to you."

"Drooling over me?" Adea repeated, stepping towards him, "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem?" Lee mused, "Since when is your hearing my problem?"

"Damn it, Lee," Adea snapped, "I'm not messing with you right now."

"Language, Lieutenant Uhura," McCoy drawled, stepping closer to her.

"This isn't joke, Lee," Adea stated, her scowl deepening as she caught his smirk, "Whether he communicated or not, you know I have submitted the past three reports a day early. Changes in lab protocol should be communicated directly to me."

"Ah, that's right," McCoy replied dryly, "I keep forgetting communicating is important to you now."

"Does this get you off?" Adea mused, tilting her face towards his as she took a step towards him, "Taking petty shots at me every chance you get?"

"I bet you wish it did," McCoy drawled in low voice, smirked slowly, "You're the one who felt the need to march across the lab and get in my face."

"I don't give a damn how you want to interact with me in your free time," Adea hissed, her face inches from his, "But keep your petty grudge the hell out of my work on this ship. You will report lab protocol to me, and directly to me. Is that clear?"

"Whatever you say, Sweetheart," McCoy drawled, staring down at her as the livid red flush spread across her cheeks.

"I mean it, McCoy," Adea warned, snatching her PADD from his desk as she shouldered past him, as she exited the medical bay.

* * *

**Two Years Earlier ****(Stardate 2256)**

* * *

"Where are you going?" Adea huffed, the heel of her boot catching in the crack between the concrete as she hurried after him.

"Hell do you care?" McCoy snapped.

He continued across the courtyard as Adea trailed behind, the music of the banquet fading into the background as they reached concrete plaza before the Academy's main lecture hall. Adea wobbled to a stop, her head spinning as she stared after him. _It was pointless chasing after him._

"The fuck is your problem?" she called out.

He slowed, his shoulders heaving as he squared to face her.

"The fuck is my problem?" He hissed, marching over to her, "Adi, are you out of your damned mind? You said you wanted to get lunch, so I wait. You don't pick up your damn phone the entire all day, and when I finally run into you, you're tipsy as hell, accepting an assignment for the mission you can't even tell me about?"

"I forgot my phone and didn't tell you about a scholarship I didn't have, so throw a hissy fit and walk off?" Adea shouted back.

McCoy exhaled deeply, the line between his brows wrinkling.

"Dammit, Adi, I don't care about the phone," he replied, his drawl becoming more pronounced as his voice raised, "Why didn't you say anything about the Adair Fellowship?"

"Because I didn't know," she retorted dryly, "What was I supposed to say?"

"You knew you applied," he shot back,"Ever think it might be nice to say hey, I might be leaving for deep space for the next year and a half."

"Since when the hell do I _have_ to tell you anything," Adea countered.

"Since you decided to blast off into space without another word!" McCoy yelled, "At least I told you when I left, Adi. I didn't fuck off without saying goodbye to you."

"Do you honestly believe I am the type of person who would leave without telling you?" Adea asked incredulously.

"Sure as hell seemed like it," he retorted coldly.

Adea stared back at the unfamiliar expression burning in his eyes as he glared back at her, her heart pounding in her chest. His expression had only flickered for a moment before softening, a brief pang of regret flashing in his eyes. But it was too late. _She snapped. _

"What is the point, Lee?" Adea spat, "So we can continue to act like we don't know each other in front of other people for another two years? You don't know even know what I had to give up and risk to be where I am now, you don't even care! So if all you can do is storm off and rant about about how I'm planning to abandon you, forgive me if I find it impossible to abandon a relationship doesn't fucking exist!"

The moment the words had left her lips she regretted it, a wave of nausea rolling over her. He stared back at her blankly, his mouth slightly open. Adea inhaled shakely, a hot tear rolling down her cheek as he watched her.

The chime of a PADD notifications broke the silence as Adea's purse began vibrating. She ignored it, as McCoy looked away from her, glancing down at his own PADD notifications. He stared for a moment at the illuminated screen, the line between his eyes wrinkling as he began to shake his head slowly.

"Lieutenant Uhura just sent me a message to thank me for supporting her sister with the thesis that helped her win the Adair Scholarship," he repeated slowly, looking up at Adea.

Adea swallowed dryly as the plaza around her began to spin dangerously, a sinking feeling building in the pit of her stomach as his words echoed in her head. _Lieutenant Uhura. Her sister. _

"Lee, it's-"

"Dammit, I'd ask if it were true, but that look," he trailed off, glancing down at the PADD as he shook his head.

Adi stared numbly forward, her vision blurring with tears. She had not known what he would do if he found out, but anything was better than the disappointed contempt he watched her with now.

"So what exactly was your plan, Adi? " he scoffed, "Lie to me and let me know when it became relevant like your scholarship? Hope it doesn't implode and hurt the people around you? Or just continue pretending like you care about anyone else when you can't be bothered to give a damn about anyone but yourself?"

She opened her mouth, but he shook his head in response, walking away without another word.

* * *

**PRESENT **

* * *

"You're awfully quiet, A," Carol mused, eyeing Adea from across her room.

Adea shrugged in response, turning back to her PADD as Carol snatched it out of her hands.

"What the hell are you-"

"Dr. McCoy's Starfleet profile?" Carol mused, holding the PADD out of Adea's reach, "You said you were reading through a report on Temeres."

"Give it back," Adea ordered, a hot flush rushing to her cheeks as she glared at Carol.

"No, absolutely not," Carol replied, "Not if you're going to do this with it."

"Carol!" Adea hissed, snatching at the PADD as Carol rotated sharply, scrolling through the page.

"Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 20," Carol read aloud, pacing away from Adea.

"Damn it, Carol, give it back," Adea hissed, as Carol turned again.

"Graduated from the University of Mississippi, magna cum laude," Carol continued, holding the PADD to her chest, "Do you want to talk about this or shall I continue?"

"That's extortion," Adea replied dryly, snatching the PADD back from Carol.

"Are you going to wait three years to talk again?" Carol asked, raising a brow as she settled onto Adea's sofa, "Adi, I'm worried about you."

"I'm sure you are, but I'm fine," Adea concluded, switching on her tea kettle.

"Are you?" Carol questioned.

"Yes," Adea answered, "In fact, I am ahead of schedule for my first four planet reports."

"You know I'm not talked about that, Adi," Carol frowned.

"Then enlighten me," Adea mused dryly.

"You're living in a permanent rotation of the lab, the ship's archive, and your room," Carol began, "You barely talk to anyone. You work impossibly late, and you are the first one up every morning. I'm positive you have no hobbies on this ship besides work."

"Your point?" Adea huffed.

"It's bad enough watching you two interact," Carol continued, "But now here you are, lying about the Temeres report and reading his Starfleet profile. What is going on with you two?"

"Nothing," Adea stated firmly, handing Carol a tea mug as she sat on her bed with her own.

"I find that hard to believe," Carol continued, "Everyday you two find some petty tit for tat to argue about. He seems hellbent on bringing up the past every chance he gets. You still have that Starfleet Medical shirt shoved haphazardly under your pillow like I wouldn't notice. If that's not enough, I can't count how many times I've caught one of you staring at the other thinking the other is not looking. What's going on?"

"I don't know," Adea frowned, glaring at the wall in front of her as she sipped her tea.

"You don't know or you don't want to acknowledge it?" Carol pushed.

"I don't know," Adea shrugged, frowning into her mug, "And to be honest, I don't think I want to."

"Don't _think _you want to?" Carol repeated, "Adi, do you still feel something for him?"

""It doesn't matter what I feel. It changes nothing," Adea sighed.

"Have a tried talking to him?" Carol asked.

"You're hilarious, Carol," Adea laughed dryly, "You say that like he'd even give me a chance to talk. Then what? We figure things out again? Wait until someone finds out when things really began? It'll be fun. I become the slutty student who slept her way to her position. He gets reprimanded for having slept with his subordinate."

"If it's the past coming out that worries you then say it started aboard once you were assigned to the same ship as officers," Carol pointed out, "You're not his student anymore."

"Well I was when _this _started," Adea continued, "And all of this, is _still_ excluding the wrath of Nyota. Imagine what'll happen once she finds out her baby sister risked her professional reputation by fucking around with one of her beloved crew members. A crew member, might I add, who is older than Nyota."

"You still haven't mentioned what _you _want," Carol pressed, "You can't make decisions based on what won't piss off Nyota."

"Of course, because that worked out so well with Adam?" Adea snapped coldly.

Carol frowned, catching the pained look in Adea's eyes. She sighed, moving to sit next to Adea before speaking up again.

"As much as you and Nyota resent one other sometimes, I don't think she ever meant to hurt you like that," Carol replied slowly.

"Yet she does know how our mother is," Adea scoffed, "And she still chose to involve her. Don't take her side."

Adea stood up from her bed, returning the tea mugs to the kitchen as they sat in silence.

"Adi, I'm not taking her side," Carol spoke up softly, "But still, after everything, you can't let worrying about Nyota shape what you want."

"Frankly, it's my choice what I do," Adea snapped back, "And what assumptions I consider when doing so."

"Did you ever tell McCoy what happened?" Carol asked after a pause.

"Is that a joke?" Adea laughed.

"No, it's not, A," Carol replied, "Did you?"

"What do you think, Carol? I tried to tell him everything after he found out," Adea mused miserably, "Do you think he cared to listen at that point? I'd barely mentioned Adam's name when he assumed that's why I didn't tell him about leaving for the Adair Fellowship."

"And?" Carol pressed.

"And? A door was slammed in my face," Adea shrugged, staring blankly ahead, "So yes, Carol, I tried."

"Adi, you never told me you talked to him again," Carol replied slowly, standing up to join Adea at the sink.

"No, I didn't," Adea frowned, scrubbing angrily at the tea cups, "Because it didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. You didn't see the look in his eyes when he said it Carol. He hated me and he still does."

"He doesn't hate you, Adi," Carol frowned.

"Carol, I don't need your pity or your theories," Adea mumbled, rinsing the glasses.

"I'm not pitying you, A," Carol replied, "But you can't honestly believe, after all this time, he's still mad at you for the hell of it. McCoy is not over you, Adi."

"Are you done, Car?" Adea sighed, rubbing her temples.

"For now, yes," Carol relinquished, exhaling loudly, "But if I catch you looking at his profile again instead of reviewing, you won't hear the end of it."

"That's the last thing you need to worry about," Adea replied, picking up her PADD as she refound her place on the sofa.

"For now," Carol mused innocently.

"What was that?" Adea replied, eyeing Carol as she sat down on her bed.

"Oh, nothing," Carol sighed, smirking at Adea, "Nothing at all."

* * *

**Til next time,**

**Live Long and Prosper - Case H.**


	5. Names

Adea backed slowly out of her cabin, quietly pulling the door shut as she stepped into the dimmed corridor. She had soldiered on for another week after speaking with Carol, burying herself in work as she stubbornly tried to avoid the truth: she was going to need more than work if she wanted to make it off the ship with her sanity in tact. This morning she had set her alarm for 4:30 earth time, hoping to secure a quiet moment before the majority of the crew woke up. _Enough time for a quick-_

"Hi."

"Fucking hell," Adea swore, jumping as she spun around.

"Morning run?" Kirk smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

From her childhood, her mother had insisted on military level formality at all times. _Grades. Attire. Manners. Behavior. _Nothing was to be out of place. Adea stared back at Kirk in his sports attire, a faint blush shading her cheeks as she pulled down nervously at the short hem of her shorts. _So much for a life of situational formality. _

"Captain, my apologies," she mumbled swiftly, "I didn't see you there."

"My apologies," he repeated mockingly, "Who even says that? Call me Kirk."

Adea stared at him blankly, hesitatingly opening her mouth before closing it again. _Her poor mother would die if she could see this. _

"Hey, Mini!" Kirk replied, whistling for her attention, "Are you still running?"

"I was just going to do a few laps around the living quarters, Captain", Adea mumbled quietly, eyeing Kirk as he began jogging excitedly in place. _How was anyone this energetic this early? _

"Kirk," he corrected, "And perfect. I was just about to start. Want to join me? Sulu's be slacking off. I need a new running partner."

"Um-"

"It'll be fun, I promise," Kirk piped up, gesturing down the hall.

"Ok," Adea sighed slowly, giving in as they took off slowly down the corridor.

_30 Minutes Later. _

Typically Adea preferred running with music, drowning out the noises and distractions around her. All she needed was silence and focus to run. _Kirk on the other hand-_

"Is your hair always this curly?" Kirk mused, catching up to her with ease.

Adea frowned, huffing as her attempt to outrun him failed.

"I didn't straighten it," Adea panted in response.

"It's cool," Kirk continued, "Really bouncy. Why doesn't Uhura ever wear her hair curly?"

"I don't know," Adea sighed.

"You guys are what, four years apart?" Kirk quizzed, "You're twenty-four if I read your record correctly?"

"Yes," Adea panted.

"What's up with the last names? Because you're Lieutenant Ele and she's Lieutenant Uhura," Kirk questioned, "Are you guys like half-sisters? I mean, you look enough alike?"

Adea's annoyed frown deepened.

"We're fully sisters," Adea huffed as they rounded a corner, "We have a double last name. It's Uhura-Ele."

"So technically speaking, you're Lieutenant Uhura too?" Kirk mused.

_His talking was going to be the death of her. _

"So, is it just the two of you or are there more?" Kirk pressed on, taking her lack of response as an answer.

"Just us," Adea answered shortly.

"That explains a lot," Kirk concluded after a pause.

They slowed as they rounded corner, finishing their final lap.

"Walk a lap?" Kirk offered, waving his finger in a circle.

Adea nodded and they began walking slowly, Kirk's last comment echoing in her head.

"What do you mean?" Adea panted finally, looking up at him, "It explains a lot?"

"I mean, Uhura," he paused, smirking, "A bit overprotective isn't she?"

"A bit overprotective?" Adea snorted, "That's a diplomatic way of putting it."

"She's seems worried about you," Kirk shrugged.

"Worried?" Adea repeated, her frown returning, "Last week she wanted me to prove I could fire a gun before I participated in a virtual combat simulation. It's not worry. She thinks I'm incompetent."

"You think it's intense now, you should have heard her before you boarded," Kirk laughed,

"Before I boarded?" Adea repeated, her frown returning.

"She threatened to chop my balls off if I so much as touched you," Kirk laughed, "Good fun."

"What?!" Adea choked, her face burning as she stared back at Kirk, "She said that? To you?"

"Surprisingly not the worse threat I've gotten from her," Kirk admitted, laughing, "I wouldn't sweat it though."

"Don't sweat it?" Adea repeated, her tone wavering dangerously, "I'm going to kill her."

"I think she's just overly cautious when it comes to you," Kirk shrugged, "I mean, it's not like you need it. I think you're more than capable of making decisions by yourself about what you want-"

He trailed off, catching the questioning look in her eyes.

"I mean, not like that, not about me, necessarily," he correctly awkwardly, "Just, I- My mother was really protective of me growing up. It's tough when someone cares so much, they don't even trust you to take care of yourself. I spent most of my childhood rebelling against it, doing things that probably should have gotten me killed or thrown in jail. Just, I get it. It's hard."

"Yeah, it is," Adea sighed slowly, smirking slowly to herself as she grabbed her foot to stretch her quad. _As much as she hated to admit it, he was starting to grow on her. _

"I like you, Mini," Kirk announced suddenly, stretching his arm across his chest.

"Mini?" she repeatedly dryly, "Who's mini?"

"I'm calling you that," Kirk stated proudly.

"Like Mini-Uhura?" Adea frowned, her brows knitting.

"No, like miniature," Kirk clarified, gesturing with his fingers.

"How on Earth is that better?" Adea blinked, unamused.

"C'mon, you're like five-foot nothing," Kirk sighed, "A nickname was bound to happen."

"I'm five-foot five," Adea frowned.

"Think of it as a badge of pride," he explained in a mockingly serious tone, "Everyone gets one."

"Miniature, Scotty the Scotsman, and Bones the Doctor," she mused, thinking back to the names she'd already heard, "You're really creative Kirk."

"Hey!" Kirk teased, "Bones came up with his."

"Mhmm," Adea drawled, envisioning McCoy's response, "Very likely."

"I swear it. His own words," Kirk continued, "Wife left him with nothing but his bones."

"He has a wife?" Adea sputtered, nearly falling out of her stretch.

A wave of nausea washed over Adea as she stared back at Kirk, her heart racing. _McCoy had a wife? _She felt dizzy as she racked her brain, trying to make sense of Kirk's words. _When had McCoy been married? _In the three years they had known each other, McCoy had never once mentioned he had a wife. No ring. No photos. _Nothing. _Save a handful of mementos from previous voyages, there were no personal momentos in his apartment. _They must have split before? _It had to be the case.

_But what if they hadn't..._

"_Had _one," Kirk corrected, oblivious to her panic, "I know, right? Wasn't expecting that either."

"Yeah, of course," she replied quickly, her voice strained.

Kirk finished stretching, glancing at his watch.

"Alright, time to be a captain again," Kirk announced, his smile faltering as he looked up at her, "You alright, Mini?"

"Too much running," she lied quickly, shaking her head. _She need to get a grip. _"I think I need to eat something."

"Breakfast in the mess hall at 6:30?" Kirk offered, tossing his towel around his neck.

"Sure," she mumbled numbly, "See you then."

Kirk raised his thumb in response as he disappeared around the corner, leaving Adea to stand alone in the hallway.

Adea ambled numbly back to her room, her stomach sinking as she racked her memories for anything he would have said about it. _Brief jokes about no one waiting for him when they'd started spending time in his office. A comment once about never having found the right person. Asking if she was dating anyone. _But he had never once mentioned it, and she'd always assumed it was obvious he didn't. _Why the hell didn't she ask then? _

She tossed her sweatshirt off into the hamper, running her hands over her face as Kirk's words echoed in her head. _Had one. _There had always been something exciting about sneaking around the Academy to meet him, but hiding the fact she was a student was a far cry from being the other woman. _Had McCoy lied to her about having a wife? _Adea exhaled shakily, fumbling with shower faucet as she turned it on. She wouldn't be able to forgive him if he'd hidden something like that from her.

_She needed to know._

* * *

McCoy glanced away from the grey clumpy mixture in his bowl, staring across the cafeteria at the dark waves curling to middle of Adea's back. She rarely wore it that way, always complaining about how frizzy it got in San Francisco's humidity. He smirked in spite of himself, returning his gaze to the bowl in front of him. He'd always found her curly hair beautiful.

As smart and determined as she was, he'd always figured it was only a matter of time before they ended up on the same high-level assignment. He'd even known two weeks before she did that she'd been assigned to Enterprise. Still, no amount of advanced warning could prepare him for the wave of emotions he felt seeing her again.

To this day he had no idea what in the Sam Hill possessed him to kiss her that time - let alone what had motivated him to keep coming back. It felt like since he'd met her, he'd been trying to get her out of his head. _That pang in his stomach every time he saw her. That itch under his skin that tugged away at his anger every time her was near her. The way her blush reached her freckled nose when they first met. Her loud huffs everytime she was frustrated. The smile that would reach those big hazel eyes of hers every time she caught him looking at her. How she arched her neck and shivered when she came for him_.

Every bone in his body knew no good could come from falling for her. Before Adea, his own wife had gotten bored of him, fucking off to sleep with her colleague and taking everything they'd built together in the process. Adea was eleven years his junior, with a bright future ahead of her. _Why on Earth would she stay? _There was no reason she'd truly fall for him. _And he'd been right. _She'd left him and blasted off into space the first chance she could.

"It's better than it looks," Kirk offered, sitting a tray down besides him.

"Dammit Jim, you gotta stop with the surprise greetings," McCoy groaned, "You'll give a man a heart attack."

"It's a good thing we have a doctor on board," Kirk smirked, clapping him on the back as he sat.

"Not if he dies of shock," McCoy muttered under his breath.

"What do you have left this afternoon, Bones?" Kirk started, digging into his soup, "I saw you're fitting Mini for the EV?"

"Who's Mini?" McCoy questioned. _Here he goes with the nicknames._

"Lieutenant Ele," Kirk clarified, nodding towards Adea, "She's fine with it."

McCoy raised an eyebrow, knowing damn well what she probably thought of the name. _Since when did Jim know her well enough to give her a nickname? _

"Fine with it or doesn't know?" McCoy continued, sniffing suspiciously at the soup, "Besides, since when do you two know each other so well?"

"Fine with it. She's like a less wound up Uhura. Less judgy. More brooding cynicism," Kirk explained, "You knew her already, right?"

"I mean she works across from Med Bay," McCoy offered simply.

"I meant before this," Kirk continued, "Weren't you her professor or something like that?"

"I just advised her thesis," McCoy replied briskly, shrugging, "But she did most of that on her own. We didn't really talk much. Hell, I didn't even know she was Nyota's sister."

"Kinda tense between them isn't it?" Kirk asked, "Adea and Nyota?"

"Is it?" McCoy mused honestly, leaving the spoon in the bowl as he gave up on his soup.

"How have you _not_ noticed?" Kirk huffed, "They barely talk to each other. When they do, it sounds forced. I mean, have you even seen them together on this ship when they don't have to be?"

"I try to stay out of other people's business," McCoy sighed in response.

It wasn't untrue. _If putting Adea out of his mind wasn't his primary preoccupation in the last few months, avoiding any and all occasion to stand in the same room as her and Nyota certainly was. _

"That's why you're boring," Kirk huffed, shoveling another spoonful into his mouth, "Either way, I really like Adea."

"You like her?" McCoy repeated, his voice controlled as he raised a brow.

"No, not like that," Kirk replied quickly, shaking his head as he glanced towards her table, "Besides, I have a thing for blondes."

"You have a thing for anything that moves," McCoy snorted, ignoring the pang of relief as he exhaled, "I'm getting something other than this...soup. Space is bad enough without food poisoning."

McCoy stood up quickly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he made his way back to the queue. _Jim's gabbing was going to be the end of him one day._

* * *

Adea sat on the edge of the examination table, drumming her fingers rapidly against the padded seat. She tried remain calm as McCoy paced around the lab, his dark hair falling into his eyes.

"Your heart rate is elevated," McCoy stated clinically, handing her a white metal egg, "Hold this."

_Was it really? _

It was no hope. She knew she needed to ask but she couldn't find the words. _Hi, any chance your divorce coincided with fucking your student? _She needed time to calm down, but she longer she waited, the more stressed she became.

"Hold out your arms," he instructed calmly, holding up a corporal scanner.

He had scanned her for a few seconds when he stopped abruptly, frowning.

"Jesus, Adi, what did you do to your side?" McCoy questioned suddenly, pulling up the hem of her shirt to reveal a large scar.

"I fell," she snapped curtly, snatching down her shirt.

"You _fell_?" McCoy repeated incredulously, his voice raising as his hands remained on the edge of her shirt.

She exhaled slowly, relenting as he lifted the side of her shirt, his fingers grazing her side.

"You _fell_?" he repeated slowly, his fingers lightly tracing the scar that fanned from a dark line across her ribs, "Adi, is this a scar from an electrical shock?"

"The doctor of the Constitution cleared me two weeks after it happened," she answered quickly.

"Cleared you of what?" McCoy pressed, setting down the scanner.

She was two weeks into her assignment aboard the Constitution when an unexpected issue with the thrusters had caused the ship to lurch sharply. Sixteen were hurt, four seriously. Adea had been thrown against railing, fracturing two ribs and bruising four. As she'd tried to sit up, a live wire came in contact with the railing, the electricity searing a jagged scar across her ribs. An emergency power shut off saved her. Any higher voltage or longer exposure would have caused far more damage than scar. _She hated talking about it._ _All it caused was unnecessary worry and attention, for minor fractures than had since been healed, and a burn with minimal lasting tissue damage. _

"It's fine," she concluded.

"So you broke your ribs and nearly got yourself fried?" McCoy frowned, "Adi you could have died."

"Technically not," Adea sighed dryly, "The voltage was not high enough."

"I'm serious," he urged, the concern in his eyes growing urgent, "Were you going to say something?"

"Were you going to say something about your wife?" She blurted out.

He stared back at her, his expression pained distant, "Adi, what-"

"Bones, your nickname," she mumbled, her stomach sinking as she watched the flicker of recognition in his eyes, "Kirk said it was because you said your wife left you."

McCoy said nothing, his expression going blank.

"I don't want to talk about it," he stately coldly, turning to enter something on the PADD.

"Were you married?" Adea pressed, stepping down slowly from the examination table.

"I said, I don't want to talk about it," McCoy repeated sternly.

"_When_ were you married, Lee?" Adea whispered.

"It's none of your damn business Adi," he growled, setting the PADD down hard on table, "You're exam is finished. You can go."

_Why wouldn't he answer her? _Adea watched him slowly, the cold sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach intensifying as he ignored her questions.

"Lee, did she leave because of me?" Adea asked quietly, her voice cracking as her heart pounded in her chest.

"Goddammit, Adi, I told you to mind your own fucking business!"

Adea jumped as McCoy slammed his hand down sharply on the table next to her. She had seen him mad before but this was something new entirely. He was livid. She stared back at him in shock, painfully stumbling into the table behind her as he glared at her.

"Get the hell out of my lab," his hissed, his voice deathly low.

Adea edged past him quickly, brushing past his shoulder as she raced towards the elevator. She waited until the doors had closed behind her to turn around, leaning her head against the wall as she hastily wiped a hot tear from her face. She ignored a wave of nausea as she took another shaky breath, crossing her arms tightly to keep them from trembling.

_Why did everything in her life have to wind up so complicated?_

* * *

**Complicated indeed. Live long and prosper - C.H.**


	6. Regrets

**Past (Stardate 2256)**

* * *

Adea exhaled shakily, nervously adjusting her scarf against the wind. She stared back at the closed door, swallowing as she reached forward slowly, ringing the doorbell. She crossed her arms as she stared blankly at the ground, her heartbeat deafening as a flurry of movement echoed behind the door. The faint glimmer of hope in her chest faded as the door opened, McCoy's cold, distant glare cutting like a knife.

"What do you want?" He spat coldly.

Adea inhaled sharply, fumbling with the hem of her jacket as her throat ran dry.

"Can I talk to you, Lee?" she asked quietly.

"You're doing that now, aren't you?" he mused sarcastically, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Can I come in?" Adea asked quietly.

"Don't you have a sister to visit?" McCoy retorted.

"I-I wanted to talk to you," Adea mumbled, breathing shakily.

"About what exactly?" McCoy mused dryly, raising his eyebrows, "Planning to leave for an assignment without so much as mentioning it?"

"I wasn't going to leave without-"

"Or lying about your sister?" McCoy continued, his voice raising, "Imagine the crew learning that time-bomb of a secret halfway through a five year mission. Space is hell enough, without half the crew hating me."

"It's not like that-"

"Or that everything between us never fucking existed?" He pressed on, stepping towards her, "Those were your exact words, right?"

"Lee, that's not wh-"

"So what? Did you forget something in the apartment?" McCoy spat.

"Lee, will you please listen to me," Adea urged, raising her arms in exasperation, "I didn't want to lose you-"

"Well that worked out well for you, Cadet Uhura," McCoy sighed.

"Lee, please, let me talk," Adea pleaded, "It's more complicated than that."

"I don't think it's very complicated at all," McCoy retorted, "You got bored-"

"No, I didn't," Adea replied, tears blurring her eyes.

"-then just decided to fuck off without giving a damn," McCoy continued.

"Lee, it's not like that," Adea urged.

"-forget everything, like it never happened" McCoy pressed on.

"Please, Lee, will you listen!" Adea snapped, a hot tear burning its way down her face.

"What is there to listen to?" McCoy shouted back.

"Lee, I didn't want to lose you!" Adea replied, wiping hastily at her face, "That's why I lied, why I didn't want to find out if this was serious, why I didn't tell you about Nyota. I-I panicked. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"In what universe did you think this wouldn't hurt?" McCoy snapped back.

"Lee, please. There was someone else," Adea started, her stomach twisting as she stared up at him, "Adam. I-I knew him since high school and he was at the Academy- "

"And let me guess, you fucked him too and didn't give a shit about what happened to him either," McCoy drawled harshly.

Adea stared back at McCoy in shocked silence, a sinking guilt constricting her chest as his words echoed in her head. She glanced away quickly, staring hard at the ground as tear fell onto the concrete beside her foot. Her words caught in her throat as she met his gaze again, unsure where to begin. _Or if he'd even believe her at this point. _

"Lee, please," Adea stuttered quietly.

"I don't have time for your sorry excuses," McCoy interrupted coldly, stepping back into his apartment.

And with a loud clack, Adea found herself facing the same closed door she'd arrived at.

* * *

**Present (Stardate 2258) - Adea's Cabin**

* * *

Adea leaned forward against the desk, her fingers pausing over the keyboard as her phone chimed. She glanced down frowning, waving a finger across the screen.

_**Carol (1:27): **_ _A, what's wrong?_

Adea drummed her fingers against the desk, exhaling slowly as she typed a response with her free hand.

_**Adea (1:28): **__Why do you always think something's wrong? _

Adea turned back to her PADD screen, typing the end of her sentence in the report. Since this afternoon, all she'd wanted to do was be left alone. _It was bad enough she'd had her EV suit fitting scheduled after her medical exam. _She'd had to wait another two hours before she could return to the people-less silence of her own room. She frowned as another notification chimed, appearing on her screen.

_**Carol (1:30): **__That's not a response…._

_**Adea (1:35): **__I'm writing preliminary report for Ujaar…..which I can't do with your notifications every few seconds. Why are you awake anyways? _

**Carol (1:37):** _Why are you still awake? _

Adea massaged her temples, leaning back in her chair as a knock sounded through the room. She groaned loudly, stretching her arms over her head as she stood. She tossed her phone onto her bed, huffing loudly as she flung open her door.

"What the hell, Carol, I said I-" Adea started.

She fell silent as her she recognized McCoy, a cold weight building in her chest as her eyes trailed from his unusually disheveled hair to the painfully familiar grey of his shirt.

"Adi," he breathed, taking a hesitant step towards her as he ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"What do you want, Lee?" Adea mused miserably, crossing her arms as she stood firmly in the doorway, "It's past 1am."

"I,uh, saw you were still updating the report log," he offered nervously, dragging his attention away from the sheer tank top she now wore, "I figured you were up."

"So, what? You wanted to help? You should go," Adi sighed coldly, moving to shut her door as McCoy blocked it with his hand.

"Adi, wait!" McCoy spoke up, promptly moving his hand from her door as she glared up at him, "I wanted to talk to you."

"What is there to say, Lee?" Adea frowned, moving to close the door again, "I said I-"

"I was divorced before I met you, Adi," McCoy stated abruptly, "Well before I met you."

Adea hesitated, her hand on the door as she glanced up at him.

"I know there's a snowball's chance in hell you even want to talk to me after how I treated you this afternoon," he continued, the emotion straining in his voice, "But I owe you an explanation and an apology."

"Can I talk to you, Adi?" he concluded quietly, his voice urgent, "Please."

Adea hesitated for moment before relenting wordlessly, gesturing him into her room. She yanked a sweatshirt on, pulling it as low as she could over her shorts as she took a seat on her bed. McCoy entered slowly, glancing quickly around the room before sitting down besides her. He exhaled loudly, his brow wrinkling as he began talking.

"I got married when I was twenty-two," he started slowly, staring down at his hands, "We studied together during my Bachelor's studies, and we got married right before I started med school."

McCoy exhaled slowly, his eyes distant.

"Then one day six years later, she left me for someone else. Filed for divorce a month later," McCoy continued, "She took everything we had together in the process. The apartment we shared was hers to begin with, so she kept that and almost everything in it. Most of my friends at the time were our mutual ones from school, so in the fallout of everything that followed, I lost most of them too. I had nothing and noone so I left and joined Starfleet."

"Lee, I had no idea," Adea replied quietly.

"How could you have known, Adi?" He responded, the pained look in his green eyes softening as he glanced up at her, "Why I would care so much that you would want to leave? Or that you're Nyota's sister? There are few things in this world I hate more than talking about being divorced, but I know why you asked today."

He paused, trailing off as he inhaled slowly.

"I never should have yelled at you like that," McCoy sighed sadly, staring back at Adea, "And for taking my anger about this out on 's no excuse, and I am so sorry, Adi."

"Thank you for telling me," Adea replied softly, reaching forward to place her hand over his.

McCoy's mouth twitched upwards in a smirk, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand.

"While I'm at it," he continued, "I should probably apologize for being a jerk to you since your boarded the Enterprise."

"Just a jerk?" Adea questioned, "I don't suppose that meeting in the Admiral's office counts too?"

"Is complete asshole better?" McCoy smirked.

"Depends," Adea sighed, raising her eyebrows innocently,"Are lab reports due Wednesdays or Thursdays now?"

"You have jokes?" McCoy mused.

"They come out from time to time," Adea shrugged.

"Probably for the best," McCoy murmured, "Your jokes are terrible."

Adea feigned a frown as McCoy raised his brows in amusement, smiling as he glanced down at their hands. He looked up slowly, a confused look of surprise briefly flickering in his eyes before he met hers. Adea stared back at him in confusion as he opened his mouth to speak, hesitating for a moment before closing it again. She swallowed nervously, her confusion beginning to give way to a familiar pang in her chest.

"I, uh, don't think I will get much more work done now," she admitted abruptly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks as she stood.

"Yeah, of course," McCoy replied quickly, standing, "I'll let you sleep."

She hesitated for a moment before reaching forward, wrapping her arms around his waist in hug. McCoy exhaled slowly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he rested his chin on her head. His lips brushed her hair as he kissed the top of her head softly, reaching up slowly to brush her cheek with his thumb. He leaned back slowly, his hands trailing down her arms as he watched her silently, his mouth twitching up in a smirk.

"Good night, Adi," he sighed softly, his hands leaving her arms as he turned towards the door.

"Good night, Lee," she replied quietly, her voice catching in her throat as he disappeared through her door.

Adea walked back slowly towards her bed, collapsing onto it. She stared up the ceiling, exhaling steadily as she ignored the tingle buzzing her chest. _So he didn't hate her. _What she would have given to know that information two years ago. _Now it just made her feel..._She frowned, rubbing the back of her hand as if it would get rid of the sensation of his thumb against her skin.

_It didn't matter what she felt._ A relationship would never work out between them without a high chance of it imploding again. _Then where would they be? Broken hearted and stuck on the same ship together? _Even if it did work, it was ticking time bomb. _Sneaking around in secret on a small ship? Hiding their emotions to the entire crew? Ignoring the age gap between a young lieutenant in her twenties and a divorced doctor in his thirties? _Adea huffed, letting her arms fall to her side, hating herself as thought back to the feeling of her cheek against his chest moments ago.

_And God forbid if her sister ever learned about the two of them. _

Misplaced concern had let Nyota to intervene in Adea's relationship with Adam, but that concern would come nowhere close Nyota's wrath if she ever found out one of her crewmates was screwing his baby sister. _As a student, no less. _Adea rubbed her eyes, frowning as she stared up at her ceiling. _No. _She had to get a hold of herself.

She'd fallen for McCoy too, and she'd be damned if he would be the one to pay for her choices.

_If only she could have done the same for Adam._

* * *

**A (Long-Overdue) Confession Time: **

**1\. One of the reasons I chose rewrite the original 6 chapters was to give more background to the character's and their motivations. So, building upon the original apology scene which some of you may remember - Enjoy this new chapter!**

**2\. You may be asking yourself - why does Adea care so much about herself and McCoy when Spock and Uhura exists? Well that is an excellent question. As mentioned (and coming in the next chapter) they are not the best of friends and are barely on speaking terms. So at this point in the story, Adea does not know about their relationship. Will she ever find out? Well! Wouldn't you like to know ;) **

**3\. Season 2 trailer of the Boys is out. *sigh* dark alternative universe (British?) McCoy. Until then, I will be rewinding and replaying the first two minutes of Karl Urban in S01E04**

**4\. Read, review, follow, favorite! I like to hear what you think :) **

**Live long and Prosper - Case H.**


	7. Heating Up

Adea woke with a start as someone knocked on her room door. She checked her watch quickly, frowning as she read the time. She groaned as the knock sounded again, rubbing her face as she opened the door slowly, frowning as she recognized the high ponytail.

"What?" Adea scoffed dryly, frowning as Nyota crossed her arms.

"It's been three months on this ship," Nyota huffed, "Are you going to talk to me?"

"Are you going to threaten to chop off my captain's balls again?" Adea mused.

"It was a joke," Nyota sighed.

"Hilarious," Adea mumbled.

"Are you going to let me in now?" Uhura continued.

"No," Adea sighed, moving to close her door as Nyota pushed past her, entering her room.

"That's mature," Nyota snapped.

"Are you done?" Adea groaned.

"Your room is a mess," Nyota huffed, picking up the grey shirt hanging out of Adea's hamper, "And why do you have Starfleet Medical clothing?"

"They said I could have an old shirt," Adea stated quickly.

"You're not part of the Medical staff," Nyota frowned.

"Which is why I don't wear it out of this room," Adea huffed, snatching the shirt back from her sister as she shoved it in the hamper, "I also didn't order a cleaning service."

Nyota stared back at her with an unimpressed glare.

"Go," Adea stated, crossing her arms.

"Adea, we can't go on like this," Nyota stated, squaring her shoulders to Adea as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, Nyota. Did you not hear me?" Adea drawled sarcastically, "Because if not, I'd be happy to spell it out for you."

"You know what I mean, Adea," Nyota pressed, "You can't blame me forever."

"I'm not blaming you," Adea stated frankly, "I am choosing to have nothing more to do with you. There's a difference."

"Adea, how much longer are you going to take your anger out on me?" Nyota snapped.

"Taking my anger out on you?" Adea repeated slowly, her voice raising, "You think I am just _taking my anger out _on you?"

"Damn it, Adea, I am serious," Uhura sighed, "We are not going spend the rest of this assignment like this."

"Right," Adea replied dryly, "So you decided barging into my room at 7:00 in the morning would be better?"

"Whatever," Uhura huffed loudly, her shoulder clipping Adea's as she stomped past her, "I tried."

"I'm sure you'd like to think that," Adea retorted coldly.

Adea shut the door behind Nyota, falling back onto her bed. For the most part, Adea had managed to avoid her sister's usual antics, keeping to the lab while Uhura remained busy at the bridge. _It did not hurt she'd found an unexpected ally in Kirk. _As much as she hated to admit it, Kirk was growing on her, acting more like her older brother than her captain. Kirk had taken her under his wing aboard Enterprise, introducing her to most of the crew and integrating her slowly into his social circle. While Nyota had certainly noticed and disapproved, Kirk had taken it upon himself to shield Adea from the brunt of her antics, annoying Uhura with his cocky humor until she stormed off with a frustrated glare.

It wasn't so far off from their relationship growing up. Always at each other's throat competing over one thing or another - clothing, grades, rewards, sports achievements. _At least then they still managed to talk. _After the Romulan attack, they'd barely said one word to one another, and Adea wasn't about to start now. Nyota had intervened enough in her life, so for now she could stay the hell out of it. _Current crewmates or not be damned._

* * *

Adea eyed the glowing green rock on her desk, pushing it back and forth with the stylus of her PADD. The Enterprise had spent the past week surveying a class R planet at the edge of the Garth system, home to an Andorian-descendant species known as the Tutar. A geological analysis of the planet had revealed large deposits of Meredium, a harmless rare mineral which, when refined and concentrated, became an expensive and powerful explosive powder.

"Well, they're not weaponizing it," Carol theorized, turning it over in her palm, "Meridiem in its raw form is too soft and the Tutar people don't have the industrial capacities to process it."

"So the Tutar are using one of the galaxy's rarest and most potent bomb components…. to build glowing huts?" Adea concluded slowly.

"Seems like it," Carol mused.

"Right," Adea sighed, resting her chin on her hands.

They sat in silence for a moment as Carol picked up the Meridiem stone, turning it over in her palm. _At least she hadn't spent four days over-analyzing a rock alone. _Though they'd managed to spend most nights and weekends together, it was still rare that she and Carol had time to work together directly aboard the Enterprise. Adea smirked to herself, taking the stone back from Carol.

"Excited for the exercise today?" Carol asked.

"It's a standard combat simulation," Adea shrugged, "I've already done it twice."

"But not in teams and not on a planetoid," Carol replied smirking.

"Better than sitting in the lab," Adea replied, closing the windows projected onto her desktop, "I just need an hour without the word _meridiem_."

"Or maybe you need that doctor of yours to bring you another coffee?" Carol mused, pushing Adea's coffee mug towards her.

"Really?" Adea replied quickly, moving her mug away from Carol.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Carol questioned.

"There's nothing to tell," Adea stated calmly, setting the stone in its glass case as she stood abruptly.

"Then what is this?" Carol asked, lifting Adea's mug, "Because I know every day that I've been down here, he's brought you coffee. He brings you coffee daily now?"

"Yes, friends bring friends coffee," Adea sighed.

At least that was what she'd been telling herself now. _Two weeks ago, she'd been telling herself it was all part of an extended apology._ He'd been noticeably kinder to her in the days after he'd talked to her. Bringing her coffee. Offering to help her with reports when he was free. Inviting her to come with him when he'd left to join Kirk for lunch. Smiling at her when they made eye contact across the room. As much as she wanted denied it, they were growing closer again. _Only this time, she would ensure any lurking desire for more than friendship never saw the light of day. _

"So you're friends now?" Carol assessed, following Adea as she paced across the lab to the archive wall.

"And?" Adea huffed, an empty drawer extending forward as she entered a number into the wall's screen.

"Oh," Carol sighed innocently.

"Stop," Adea warned, "I know that look."

"Do you?" Carol mused.

"Nothing will happen between us," Adea stated firmly, turning to exit the lab, "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Like Chekov's trying to be friends with you?" Carol smirked.

"Not you too," Adea frowned.

"You should have heard him going on about you yesterday at lunch," Carol sighed, following Adea out of the lab.

"He didn't," Adea groaned.

"Mmm," Carol nodded, "The rest heard it too. You should have seen McCoy's face."

"McCoy?" Adea questioned, frowning as her question came out in a high squeak, "What did he do?"

"Why do you care how he reacted?" Carol shrugged innocently, winking as they entered the cafeteria, "I thought you were just friends?"

"Shut up, Carol," Adea huffed, making the way to the food line, "What's with you and Captain Winks-a-lot?"

"Kirk?" Carol laughed, "What about him?"

"Are you going to tell me about that?" Adea questioned, setting a purplish soup on her tray.

"There's nothing to tell," Carol shrugged.

"Nothing to tell or nothing there?" Adea pressed.

"Fine," she countered, leaning in to whisper to Adea, "I'll admit it when you admit you still want a go at that fine doctor of yours."

"Well, I don't," Adea snapped, "So drop it."

They crossed the cafeteria silently, making their way to the familiar faces seated in the corner. They'd barely reached the table when Chekov stood abruptly, beaming broadly at Adea.

"_Leytenant Ele! Kak dee la?_" Chekov smirked, excitedly offering Adea the chair besides him.

"_Horasho, Chekov," _Adea replied through a quick smile, ignoring the urge to elbow Carol as she snickered, "How was your morning?"

"Very good," Chekov replied, "But better now that you're here."

Adea forced a small smile in response, heat rising to her cheeks as Carol winked at her.

"Oi, lad, let the girl eat before you start making moves," Scotty piped up, shaking his head as he turned his attention to Adea, his brows furrowing,"Ya speak Russian too?"

"It's rusty," Adea sighed, taking the seat Chekov offered her.

"Fuckin' hell, lassie," Scotty huffed, "What can't you do?"

"Plenty of things," Adea muttered quickly, blushing slightly.

"If only fencing was part of those things," Sulu spoke up from his place across from her, "I still want a rematch by the way."

"Well you'll just have to wait until after we beat you in the exercise this afternoon," Carol replied.

"The exercise a waste of resources, if ya ask me," Scotty declared adamantly, "Best technology in the damn galaxy and Starfleet requires it officers to find an abandoned planetoid for an AR mission simulation? It'd be less of a headache if it was in the ship."

"And miss all the fun?" Kirk mused behind Adea, clapping a hand on her shoulder as he arrived at the table.

He flashed Adea a smirk as he sauntered around the table, sliding into the empty seat besides Carol.

"Mini," he greeted with a wink, nodding at the others.

"Call it what you want, Captain," Scotty huffed, "I'll observe from the ship, thank you very much."

"Enough with the negativity, Scotty. You'll ruin it for our newest recruits," Kirk replied, "Besides it'll be fun."

"It'll be a preventable accident waiting to happen," McCoy drawled apprehensively, joining the table.

He sat down into the free chair besides Adea, a small smirk tugged at the edge of his mouth as he met her eyes.

"You need to lighten up, Bones," Kirk sighed.

"Lighten up? Six of the ship's officers are going to be running around planet, trying not to get themselves killed or injured in an exercise that could have damn well be simulated on this ship," McCoy frowned, "Including the Chief Medical Officer."

"You worry too much," Kirk frowned.

"And how the hell are we supposed to find a target without proper crew support?" McCoy continued, "I'm doctor, not a homing device."

"Then take Mini as your partner," Kirk offered, "She's like a walking Planet Encyclopaedia."

_Partner with McCoy? _Adea swallowed, exchanging a quick look with Carol, before turning her attention back to Kirk.

"_Walking Planet Encyclopaedia_?" Adea repeated, steadying her voice as she stared unamused at Kirk.

"Always the charmer, Jim," McCoy sighed, shaking his head as he smirked at Adea, "But I'm not about to steal her away from Dr. Wallace."

"I'm pretty sure they're attached at the hip, Jim," Scotty added.

"About that," Kirk continued, "I think we should switch the teams around."

"Honestly, Kirk?" Adea frowned, "It's just an hour-long exercise."

"But just think," Kirk replied, "A whole hour to get to know someone new. Besides, the rookies should split up and work with someone who's completed the exercise before. Experience exchange and all."

"And let me guess," Adea mused dryly, "You want to partner with Carol?"

"I mean, I hadn't considered it," Kirk replied, swivelling in his chair to face Carol, "But now that you mention it..."

"I don't particularly mind," Carol replied slowly, an innocent look flashing in her eyes as they met Adea's, "Adi, do you mind working with the doctor?"

"Of course not," Adea replied quickly, her voice straining slightly as she tried not to glare at Carol.

"I'm sure Lieutenant Ele would make an excellent partner," Chekov added to McCoy, flashing Adea smile.

"Perfect, it's settled!" Kirk concluded, "Rookies can learn something. Bones can stop complaining. Mini and Dr. Wallace can exist as separate humans. Everyone wins!"

"I'm pretty sure we all know who wins in this scenario," Sulu sighed.

"Besides Mini can get to know the crew outside of lab she barricades herself into," Kirk continued, turning towards Adea, "I mean, how much do you really know about the doctor?"

"McCoy?" Adea mumbled quickly, blushing as her knee accidentally bumped his beneath the table.

"I'm sure there's far more interesting people for her to learn about on this ship," McCoy sighed, his dark brows knitting.

"Nonsense," Kirk pressed on, waving McCoy off as he faced Adea, "For example, did you know his middle name is Horatio?"

"Here we go," McCoy huffed loudly, massaging his temples.

"Horatio?" Adea mused glancing towards to McCoy as he swore under his breath.

"I swear to God, Jim," McCoy warned.

"See?" Kirk replied, "The more you know."

McCoy exhaled slowly, turning towards Adea.

"Well if anything," McCoy sighed, raising his eyebrows as he leaned towards her, "I know I have someone who wants to wipe that cheeky smirk Jim's face as much as I do."

"Anything you say, Horatio," Adea smirked, savouring the flustered wrinkle forming between McCoy's brows as she started to eat.

* * *

Adea frowned, waving her wrist in the air as her simulation wristband continued to calibrate. _Her gear was going to be the death of her. _She huffed loudly, her brows knitting as she turned her attention to zipper of her blue operations uniform. It'd taken several minutes to pull on the skin fitting uniform, only for the zipper to stick a few inches above her navel. _Conveniently the moment Carol had left._ She exhaled loudly through her nose, struggling in vain as she yanked at the zipper. She'd be caught dead walking around like Bond scuba girl. _Kirk wouldn't let her hear the end of it…._

"If that's our team strategy, poor Chekov doesn't stand a chance."

Adea turned sharply, her face flushing as she found McCoy leaning against the door frame. A smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth, his green eyes trailing down the front of her suit.

"Aren't you always complaining about Kirk's surprise entrances?" Adea huffed, her face burning as she crossed her arms, "Why are you here?"

"Is that really how you are going to wear your suit?" McCoy drawled, ignoring her question as his eyes remained on the open front of her suit.

"Of course not," Adea snapped, "The zipper's stuck."

"Mmm," McCoy nodded wordlessly.

"Don't you have something better to do than stare at my chest?" Adea huffed, turning her back to him as she tried to pull on her zipper.

"Do you really want me to answer that, Sweetheart?" McCoy drawled, smirking at Adea's glare as walked towards her.

"Where's Carol?" Adea sighed impatiently.

"She's waiting for you outside," McCoy replied, "She sent me to find you."

"She couldn't get me herself?" Adea stated dryly, glancing over her shoulder at McCoy.

"Need help?" McCoy offered.

"No," Adea grumbled, her voice straining as she fought with her zipper, "Its fine."

"Adi," McCoy sighed, his hand brushing her shoulder.

"It's. Fine," Adea huffed, nearly elbowing McCoy as her fingers slipped from the zipper.

"Adi, stop, you're going to break it, " McCoy sighed as she swore, "May I?"

Adea exhaled slowly, raising a dubious eyebrow as she turned towards McCoy, her arms crossed.

"Or you can break it," McCoy shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "You see I'm fine with that, but I pity Chekov. That poor boy'll have a heart attack."

"Fine," Adea exhaled sharply, uncrossing her arms, "But I swear, if I hear a single comment or Chekov joke…."

"Why I'd never dream of such a thing," McCoy replied innocently, his hands brushing hers as took the zipper.

"I mean it," Adea warned.

"I'm sure you do," he smirked, his fingers brushing the top her stomach as he slipped his index finger inside her uniform, pinching both sides of the zipper.

Adea swallowed slowly, her breath catching in her throat as he pulled the zipper, his finger trailing between her breasts, as he slid it easily up her chest to her collarbone.

"See, you just have to be gentle," he whispered, his face inches from hers.

"You got lucky," Adea sighed, tilting her face towards his.

"Doctor's hands," McCoy drawled, his voice low as he let the zipper go slowly, "Anything else they can help you with?"

Adea watched corner of his mouth twitched up a devilish smirk, a low burn rising to her cheeks as she tensed her jaw. She knew he was toying with her to get a rise out of her, but the rapid pulsing of her heart in her chest just seemed to grow faster. _That suit of his wasn't helping... _She leaned back slowly, biting her lip as her back brushed against the wall behind her. She sucked in slowly, her pulse echoing loudly in her ears as his green eyes hers. He hesitated for a moment before leaning back slowly, squaring his shoulders as footsteps echoed on the gangway.

"I'll see you in ten then to wipe that smirk of Kirk's face?" McCoy replied, stepping backwards towards the door.

Adea nodded quickly, her voice catching in the throat as flashed her final smirk. She exhaled slowly, biting her tongue to suppress the slow grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as her wide eyes trailed after him. She leaned her head back against the wall, her thoughts beginning to wander as Carol sauntered slowly into the room.

"I take it you're getting on with your new teammate, " Carol announced, sauntering into the room.

"What?" Adea mumbled quickly, her voice unnaturally high.

"You know, I never took McCoy to be the sporty type," Carol mused innocently, "But he is certainly something to look at in that suit. I mean, that chest. You think he's single?"

"Shove it, Carol," Adea huffed, turning her attention back to her wristband.

"You know, I could have sworn the doctor tried to cover the front of his uniform when he walked past me just now," Carol pressed on, watching Adea's face fade red.

"You know I'm starting to think Kirk's proposal wasn't an accident," Adea hissed, exhaling loudly as her wristband chimed on, "Stop with the games, Carol. Nothing will happen between us."

"I don't think all of the doctor feels that way," Carol muttered under breath.

"Are you done?!" Adea snapped, crossing her arms as she glared at Carol.

"I'll see you outside," Carol replied quietly, smirking at Adea's flustered glared at she yanked on her boots.

Adea ignored Carol as she left, yanking on her right boot before reaching for her utility belt. She swore as her shaking fingers fumbled over the clasps, exhaling loudly through her teeth as she paused for a moment, breathing heavily. _What was wrong with her? _One small taunt and she was losing it. _The feeling of him against her skin. The sensation as his fingers trailed up her chest. The scent of his cologne as he leaned towards her. _She shook her head quickly, frowning as she managed to fasten the buckle. _No. _

_No. No. No. No. No. No. _

She slid the modified phaser it's her holster as she glanced quickly in the mirror, tying her hair back in a low ponytail. _These thoughts had to stop. _With a final glance, Adea turned sharply on her heel, exiting the transport shuttle as she made her way onto the planet's surface._ She couldn't let her imagination run this wild._

_It was bad enough she kept imagining his lips had brushed hers._

* * *

**Confession Time:**

**1\. oh boy... when will Adea ever learn not to play with fire?**

**2\. Thank you so much for the new follows and favorites! Keep liking, keep following, and let me know what you think!**

**3\. ****New Star Trek Films?! ...omg. please.**

**Til next time! Live long and prosper! **

**-Case H. **


	8. Fire

**Fengari IV, Beta Quadrant (Present)**

* * *

"Sweetheart, what on God's green earth are you doing?" McCoy sighed, glancing at his wristband.

"Give me a moment," Adea huffed, pulling herself onto a boulder as she reached the top of the rocky hillside.

The exercise was straightforward enough. _Navigate the terrain of planetoid. Locate a target within a 5 mile radius. Secure the target within the allotted hour. Avoid or eliminate rival teams_. While she hadn't known the exact location of the exercise, a quick cross-search of uninhabited planetoids in the Beta quadrant had narrowed the possibilities down to twelve. Over the span of the week, she'd managed to narrow the possibility down to three. By the time they'd dropped out of warp above Fengari IV, Adea had known the planet's terrain like the back of her hand. She let out a relieved exhaled as she clambered onto the rocky ledge, standing slowly as she crept towards the edge.

She'd known it was a risky, time-consuming strategy to scale the steep ridge around Fengari IV's crater, but by some miracle, McCoy had agreed to follow her. _Yet if it all went to plan… _She smiled slowly as she spied her target, waving McCoy over slowly as inched towards the ledge.

"See," Adea gestured, smirking as she eyed the glowing orange beacon in the valley below, "It's there."

"Yeah, I can see it," McCoy grumbled, crouching hesitantly besides her as he eyed the cliff, "So what now? We jump 100 some odd feet?"

"Of course not," Adea replied calmly, removing a large compass from her utility belt, "First I'm going to even our odds."

"By yelling the wrong directions at the crew?" McCoy sighed, raising an eyebrow at the compass.

"Pass me a rock," Adea frowned, fiddling with the compass.

"So we're throwing rocks?" McCoy mused.

"Sometime today, Horatio," Adea sighed, smirking as McCoy raised an unamused brow.

"This planetoid, Fengari IV," she started slowly, taking the rock as she tilted the compass onto its side, "Used to be host to a several species until approximately 45 million years ago, when they were all wiped out in a catastrophic meteor strike which left the Lucrumi crater basin."

Adea paused, holding the compass steady as she used the rock to crack its metal frame. She dropped the rock as she lifted the compass, delicately picking apart the bent metal as she removed the glass lens.

"The terrain of Fengari IV remains uninhabited," Adea continued slowly, wedging the lens between two rocks at the cliffs edge, "Because in addition to a lack of resources and relatively low locational importance within the Beta Quadrant, the terrain is almost entirely flat. So in terms of defense, the ridge around the Lucrumi crater basin-"

"-is the only strategic terrain on the planet," McCoy concluded.

"Exactly," she smiled, satisfied with the sturdiness of the rock pile.

"You knew it was going to be here," McCoy stated, a impressed smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Educated guess," Adea smirked, lowering herself slowly onto her stomach as she stared through the lens at the valley below.

"And now?" McCoy questioned.

"We can't use standard issue phasers for the simulations, because even when they're set to stun they still pose a risk," Adea continued, removing the gun from its holster, "So they gave up a modified weapon which fires an infrared laser beam. Since EV suits are programmed to track changes in the vitals of the wearer, the sensors will register the concentrated heat spike of the lasers. Now if I can fire it through the lens, enhancing the laser's range-"

"You can eliminate the other teams before they reach the target," McCoy concluded.

"Offensive combat tactics 101," Adea stated, closing her left eye as she lined up her phaser with the lens.

"Brains and beauty," McCoy murmured, watching as her test shot hit the ground by her target.

"You can shut up about the sexy uniform strategy now," Adea tutted.

"And now we wait?" McCoy replied softly.

"You're catching on," Adea smirked, sitting up slowly.

"Not for long," McCoy replied, leaning against the boulder behind Adea as his wristband chimed, "Jim and Carol were eliminated."

"Already?" Adea questioned, glancing down at the notification from her own wristband.

"Eliminated by Lieutenant Uhura," McCoy continued, reading the message aloud, "She and Sulu must be close if they're on the same path this far into the exercise."

Adea nodded slowly in response, her eyes scanning the edges of the basin for signs of movement.

"So, what's up with you two?" McCoy asked slowly.

"Who?" Adea mused.

"Your sister," McCoy clarified.

"What about it?" Adea replied dryly, her eyes fixated on the valley.

"I mean, I can assume why you wouldn't have mentioned her much at the academy," McCoy started slowly, "But even now aboard the Enterprise, you two barely talk."

"No, we don't," Adea stated curtly, charging the laser pulse of her phaser as she set it besides the lens.

"Did something happen between you two?" McCoy pressed cautiously.

"Why does something have to happen?" Adea snapped quickly.

"I don't know," McCoy shrugged, "It just seems tense."

"Well it is tense," Adea retorted coldly, glancing back at McCoy, "Besides what the hell do you know? All you ever mentioned was a nice sister with cute kids."

"You thought she's my only sibling?" McCoy mused, walking forward to join Adea on the ledge.

"She's only one you ever mentioned," Adea replied slowly, shrugging.

"Try one of six," McCoy replied, crouching down besides her.

"Six?" Adea repeated, breaking her gaze from the basin as she glanced at McCoy, "You have five sisters?"

"Three actually," McCoy clarified, "And two brothers. "

"I can't deal with one. How on Earth do you deal with _five_?" Adea continued, staring back at him.

"Beats me," McCoy replied, "Love 'em to death but they're a pain in my ass sometimes."

"Well, I stand corrected then," Adea sighed, turning her bemused gaze to the basin.

"See?" McCoy smirked, toyingly pushing Adea's shoulder, "You learn something new everyday when you take a break from sassing people."

"I guess I do," Adea replied, her smirk grew wider as she added, "_Horatio._"

"I'm gonna kill Jim when we're back on the ship," McCoy huffed, crossing his arms as he turned his attention to the valley below, "Let's hurry up and find them."

"There!" Adea whispered suddenly, her focus honing in on trickle of rocks slipping down the mountain, "Three o'clock."

"Sulu," McCoy observed, "Uhura must be close behind."

"Well if this works it shouldn't matter where she is," Adea sighed.

She closed her left eye, focusing in the silver stripe across the front of Sulu's gold uniform. She inhaled slowly, aiming her taser through the lens as she moved her finger to the trigger. She held her breath, waiting for the moment he paused, checking his wristband as he made his way to the target. She exhaled smoothly, firing a single shot into the basin below. She sucked in slowly, her heart beating in her ears as she waited in silence.

"Congratulations Annie Oakley," McCoy smirked, breaking the silence as their wristbands chiming, "Sulu and Uhura are eliminated."

"Perfect," Adea exhaled excitedly, dusting off her stomach as she stood, reholstering her phaser.

"And now?" McCoy asked.

"We have fifteen minutes to reach the flag," Adea smirked, skipping away from the cliff's edge.

"_Fifteen?_" McCoy huffed, frowning as Adea clambered quickly down the rocky ledge, "It took us nearly thirty to get up here."

"Gravity," Adea called back, disappearing behind another

"Gravity is not going to prevent you from breaking an ankle," McCoy frowned, climbing down cautiously as he looked around for Adea, "Or a leg."

He exhaled loudly as his warning was met sound of rocks slipping down the cliffside.

"Adi, I'm serious," McCoy sighed, jumping down cautiously on the rocky footpath that trailed down to the valley.

"I'm fine," Adea's voice sounded above him.

"Adi, where-" he trailed off short as Adea jumped from the ledge above his head, landing in the pathway in front of him.

"Dammit, Adi!" McCoy hissed, steadying Adea as she stood, "You're going to break something!"

"Lighten up, Doctor," Adea teased, dusting off her knees as she pushed the loose strands falling out of her ponytail from her face.

She smiled broadly, turning quickly as she continued down the path towards the valley. McCoy stared after disappeared around the corner, exhaling slowly as a familiar pang in his chest made his face run hot. _What the hell was she doing to him? _It was bad enough he liked toying with her as much as he did. Getting under her skin. Teasing her. Flirting with her. Anything to get a rise out of her. As if one last smile, or laugh, or frustrated blush would get her out of his head. But the more time he spend with her, the more he'd begun to feel like he was playing with fire, holding his hand closer and closer to a flame as he tried not to get burned.

_But then he'd seen it…._

_If only for a half second in the dim lighting of her room._ It could have meant a thousand things. Maybe she'd forgotten about it. Maybe it meant nothing to her anymore. Maybe it wasn't even what he thought it was. But goddammit if he wouldn't drive himself crazy, imagining the grey sleeve he'd seen draped across the arm of her sofa meant more.

Crew drama and complicated past be damned. He was falling for her. _He was going to get burned. _

* * *

Adea waved at the light control, dimming it to power save mode as she exited the lab. The adrenaline of the exercise had long worn off as she'd returned to the lab, finishing her report on Tutar people. She rubbed her eyes slowly, glancing up as footsteps echoed in hall.

"There you are!" Carol sighed, appearing around the corner.

"What are you wearing?" Adea asked, raising an eyebrow at the deep v of Carol's blouse.

"Me?" Carol replied, gesturing to Adea's uniform, "What are you wearing?"

Adea stared blankly at Carol, exhaling slowly through her teeth as recognition flickered.

"Kirk's party is tonight, isn't it?" Adea groaned, running a hand through her hair.

"You think I break out this top out to inspect missiles?" Carol mused, stepping besides Adea as she pushed her towards her room, "Change."

"I'm not staying long," Adea sighed, shifting her PADD in her hands as she entered her keypad.

"Why the hell not?" Carol huffed, kicking her shoes off as she marched to Adea's closet, "You just set a bloody time Starfleet record for officer on-planet simulation time by two minutes. You should celebrate."

"So why can't I wear this?" Adea sighed, dropping her arms to her side.

"You know damn well what I'm going to say to that," Carol replied quickly, examining a red sweater in Adea's closet before tossing onto the back of her sofa.

"Carol-" Adea warned, frowning as Carol tossed a leather mini skirt over her couch.

"For the love of God, Adi," Carol exhaled, "Almost everyday since I've met you, you've been punishing yourself over one tragic relationship or another. You can't go out. You can't flirt with anyone. You can't move on. Getting dressed up is stupid. You deserve one night to go out, look nice, have fun, and stop worrying for once! Not this prude librarian routine."

"Prude librarian routine?" Adea repeated, crossing her arms.

"Yes, that's what I call it. Don't you dare question it," Carol replied, wagging a finger at Adea, "One night. That's all I'm asking for. One night."

Adea opened her mouth to answer, shutting it quickly as a loud knock sounded at her door. She glanced nervously at the door, her confused stare turning to a glare as she turned back towards Carol.

"Did you invite him here?" Adea hissed, frowning at Carol's smirk as she paced to the door.

"Of course not," Carol smirked, perching on the back of Adea's couch, "I invited reinforcements."

Adea frowned as she turned her attention to the door, opening it slowly to a familiar blue wink.

"You're wearing your uniform to a party?" Kirk sighed, stepping past Adea as he sauntered into her room, "What are you, Mini? A first-year cadet?"

"Told you it was bad," Carol replied, ignoring Adea's glare to stand cross-armed besides Kirk.

"This'll help," Kirk sighed, tossing Adea a flask from the inside of his jacket.

She caught the flask in the air, her nose wrinkling as unscrewed the lid.

"What is it?" She frowned.

"Try it," Kirk urged, "It's better than it smells."

Her frown deepened as she took in Kirk and Carol's hesitant stares, taking a small sip. The liquid burned the moment it hit her tongue, searing down the the back of her throat as she tried to swallow it. She inhaled sharply, barely refastening the lid before the tossed the flask back to Kirk.

"What the hell was that?!" Adea coughed, sputtering as she wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve.

"To better decisions, " Kirk shrugged.

"Better decisions?" Adea wheezed, inhaling dryly, "It tastes like lighter fluid!"

"Saurian Brandy," Kirk smirked, taking the outstretched flask as he took a swig, passing it to Carol.

"So it is lighter fluid," Adea frowned, eyeing Kirk cautiously as he handed her the flask again.

"Anything to prevent you from wearing that," Kirk sighed, propping his hands under his head as he fell back onto her bed, hanging his feet lazily off the edge of her bed.

"Is it honestly that bad?" Adea sighed, turning slowly to her closet.

"I'm your captain," Kirk smirked, closing his eyes as he tossed the flask across the room Adea, "Don't dress like a goddamn cadet, Mini. That's an order."

Adea exhaled slowly, glancing towards Carol as she shrugged innocently. She frowned, picking up the flask as is she turned her attention to her closet as she began moving the hangers with her free hand. _One night. What harm could it cause? _She took a swig of the flask, shaking her head quickly as the burning subsided.

"You need better alcohol Kirk," Adea coughed, passing the flask back to Carol.

"Then change faster," Kirk sighed, rotating onto his stomach as he pulled her pillow under his head.

"I'm not changing with you in here," Adea grumbled as she continued flipping through her closet, pausing as her eyes caught a familiar black dress.

"I like that one," Carol hummed, flicked back to the dress as she pulled it out of the closet.

"The hem is tempermental on that one," Adea replied quickly, reaching forward for it slowly as Carol spun out of reach.

"I rather like it," Carol smiled, "Not too much. Short enough to be flirty. You can't go wrong with a black shift dress."

"Well I'm going to need something else to drink if I'm going to wear this dress," Adea sighed, exhaling steadily as Carol pressed the hanger into her hands.

"Good it's settled," Carol sighed, moving her attention to Adea's jewelry box as she gestured to the bathroom, "Now go change so we can go."

* * *

**9:41 pm. **

_Adea felt like she was floating. _

She'd barely made it in the door when Kirk had begun, plying them overly full glasses of whatever he had in the apartment as he gave them a quick tour. She had managed to switch a good bit of the vodka out for water when Kirk wasn't looking. But what she hadn't managed to switch was slowly catching up to her.

She glanced with a raised eyebrow towards her sister, keeping to her reserved corner with Spock a green woman who glare intermittently at Kirk. _God they looked like annoyed chaperones at a middle school dance. _Nyota was probably still pissed from this morning, though Adea could care less if her sister wanted to keep her distance. _Though she could infinitely replay the look on her sister's face when Spock stated she had indeed won by strategy not cheating. _

Across the room, McCoy, Sulu and Scotty had spent the night locked in a debate over the comparative merits of Bourbon, Scotch, and Japanese whiskey. Nonetheless she'd caught him smirking at her from time to time. It was probably for the best that he remained in his debate. The tipsier she was, the harder it was not to stare back.

She glanced up at Chekov, wondering how long she'd zoned out as she tried to follow his sentence. _London air taxis? Wasn't he talking about the food in St. Petersburgs? _Anything was better than the weird flirty phrases he'd been teaching her in Russian. She leaned away from Chekov as he looked away suddenly, struggling to translate a word. She excused herself quicky, crossing the room quickly. She ambled into the kitchen, pouring herself another drink as a low whistle sounded behind her. She turned slowly, her heart racing as she caught sight of McCoy leaning in the doorway, his sleeves rolled casually to his elbows. He sauntered towards her slowly, his green eyes trailing her short black dress.

"Now you are wearing that dress like you're doing it a favor," he drawled, taking a sip from his glass.

"You do know Nyota's around that corner somewhere," Adea countered slowly as he came to a stop a few inches from her, leaning against the counter.

"That's what the bourbon's for," he smirked, taking another sip, "Besides she's not the one I have to be worried about."

"Is that so?" she laughed, clinking his glass with her own as she took a sip.

"I mean, have you noticed this evening?" McCoy sighed.

"Don't even start," Adea replied slowly shaking her head.

"I mean I can't see how you haven't," McCoy continued, leaning towards her, "Poor boy all but has his nose pressed against your face, and here I was, thinking Scotty was the drunk close talker."

"Really, Lee?" Adea smirked, suppressing a laugh.

"Who knows?" McCoy teased, "Did you see those angelic curls? Could be you thing."

"Nooo," she laughed, shaking her head as she looked up at McCoy, "Not going to happen."

"I blame the dress honestly," McCoy drawled,

"What is it with you and this dress?" Adea mumbled into her glass, smirking as confusion flickered in McCoy's eyes.

She rolled her eyes at McCoy, ignoring the scent of his cologne that lingered as she made her way back to the living room. She let out a breath of relief as she noticed Sulu had taken Chekov's place in her absence, taking a seat besides him.

"Speak of the devil," Kirk mused, stealing her glass as he took a sip, "So were you planning on telling us your hold the Academy's score record for sport shooting?"

"It was in my file," Adea shrugged, snatching her glass back.

"In my file, my ass," Kirk replied, "You need to learn how to brag, Mini."

"Next officer's exercise we're forming a team," Sulu smirked, clinking her glass.

"Unless Kirk steals my teammate again," Adea sighed, shooting a mock glare at Kirk.

"I have no recollection of the events in question," Kirk declared, reaching forward suddenly for a champagne bottle on the table in the front him. He stood abruptly, the room falling silent as he popped the cork loudly.

"A toast!" Kirk called out, stepping onto the coffee table, "This mission, like any other we've done before, will be full of unknowns. Where we'll go. What we'll encounter. But one thing is certain. There is no place I'd rather be and no one I'd rather be around than here in the Enterprise with this crew. To a good crew, good friends, and good adventures!"

The room raised their glasses, cheering.

"Hey, Mini! Do me a favor?" Kirk called out, filling the handful of empty glasses on the table, "There should be spare glasses in the kitchen. Could you bring them?"

Adea walked back to the kitchen, frowning at the identical cabinets. She searched for a moment, finally locating the glasses on a high shelf. She stood on her toes, swearing as her fingers brushed the glass. She tried again. As her fingers finally made contact, the glass slipped, cracking against the counter as it tumbled to the floor. Adea swore, hastily fiddling with the glass shards as she began cleaning.

"You ok in there, Mini?" Kirk called out, appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah," she mumbled angrily, tossing the glass into the bin, "I'm sorry. It fell."

"Hey, it's fine. It happens," Kirk added, grabbing a towel to sweep the glass from the counter.

"Fuck," Adea swore, a large shard slicing her palm.

"Jesus, Mini," Kirk said, "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, wincing as she flexed her hand, "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, it's in the bathroom under the sink," Kirk replied, frowning at the dark red cut across her palm, "I'll get it."

"No," Adea replied quickly, wincing again, "It's not that bad. I can get it."

"It's fine. Not worth making a scene about," she repeated, shaking her head as Kirk tried to protest, "In the bathroom, you said?"

"It's under the sink," he added, "But, seriously Mini, let me-"

"I got it," she called out, leaving the kitchen.

Adea made her way to the bathroom in the corner of Kirk's bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. She sat the kit on Kirk's sink, fumbling awkwardly with left hand to open it. She finally succeeded, unfurling a roll of gauze when someone knocked.

"I'm fine, Kirk" she answered, frowning as she fought to wrap the bandage with one hand.

"Kirk said you were in the bathroom," McCoy started, slowly opening the door. His brows furrowed as he watched Adea fight angrily with the bandage, "Here, let me help you."

"I don't need help," she replied, her voice strained as she tried to tie the bandage into a knot, "It's fine."

"Really?" McCoy mused as Adea swore, her knot unraveling.

She exhaled slowly, rolling her eyes at McCoy's cocky smirk. She relented, pushing herself up to sit on the counter, as she held out her injured hand.

"Looks like you were just fine, Dr. Ele," McCoy mused, unwrapping the tangled ball of gauze from her hand. He searched in the kit for a moment, pulling out a silver canister.

"Fucking hell!" she swore, jerking her hand back as McCoy sprayed the wound on her hand.

"Hey, don't swear at me. I'm not the one who decided to cut their hand open at a party," he teased, wrapping gauze around her palm, "It should stop stinging in a moment. The spray has a topical analgesic."

She wriggled her fingers as the pain began to fade, watching McCoy as he tied off the bandage gently, securing it with a piece of tape. Her looked up at her, his dark eyebrows raised in amusement, "Think you can keep yourself in one piece the rest of the night?"

"I'm not clumsy," she replied boldly, teetering precariously as she hopped off the counter.

McCoy reached forward quickly, steadying her with a hand on her waist.

"See," she laughed, looking up at him, "Not clumsy."

They stood there for a moment in silence, a slow burn rising to Adea's cheeks as she grew increasingly aware of how close they now stood and his hand on her waist. She inhaled shakily, the ever-present voice in her head fading away as he reached up slowly, his fingers trailing the side of her face as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"God, you're beautiful Adi," McCoy whispered softly, stepping closer.

Adea inhaled shakily, as she stared back at him, his dark green eyes burning into hers. She reached up suddenly, her hands cupping his face as she pressed her lips against his. The kiss barely lasted a second before Adea pulled away sharply, her heart pounding in her ears. _What the hell was wrong with her?_ She inhaled rapidly, her lips still parted in shock as she stared back at unreadable expression on his face. She looked away from his eyes, staring forward as his chest as the room seemed to sway.

"Lee, I-"

Adea's breath caught in her throat as he leaned down quickly, his hands tightening around her waist as his lips crashed against hers. He kissed her tenderly, tilting her chin with his thumb to deepen the kiss. She gave in slowly, responding to this kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her heartbeat raced in her chest as stumbled back into the counter, gasping against his mouth as he lifted her sit on the counter. She pulled him closer as he cupped her face, her grip on time and space slipping away as the kiss grew more fevered.

A low moan escaped her lips his hand dropped to her waist, pulling her against him as his tongue teased the entrance to her mouth. Adea whimpered softly as his tongue flicked against hers, her hands trailing slowly under his sweater to the bare skin of his back. Adea could feel him growing hard as he pressed his hips against hers, trailing kisses down her neck. She leaned her head back as his tongue traced circles into her necks, the room blurring as the final remnants of her self-control shattered.

Her hands tangled in his hair as he gripped her thigh, a whimper slipping from her lips as he dragged his thumb up her inner thigh. She gripped the edge of the counter as his free hand snaked around her waist, wrapping her legs around him as he pulled her hips forward to his. Her breath caught in her throat as his hand pushed higher, his thumb grazing the lace fabric between her legs.

"Fuck, Lee-"

His name barely escaped her lips as his thumb brushed against her, trailing small circles across the thin damp fabric. Adea moaned as his lips met hers again, her hands fumbling to unfasten his jeans as her mind straining to focus on anything but the sensation rippling through her core with each pass of his thumb.

She stifled a loud groan against his neck as he pulled her forward sharply, his thumb barely moving the damp fabric as he thrust into her. Adea gasped as he rocked his hips against hers, waves of pleasure rolling through her with each thrust. Everything seemed to fade as the room begin to spin, her nails dragging along his as the tingling heat building between legs threatened to send her over the edge. She leaned her head back, his name slipping from her lips as the thrusts grew faster. She barely felt him tense when the sensation burning in her core erupted, blissful waves rippling through her body in the brief moment she seemed to float back to ground beneath her feet. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest as she panted. For a brief moment she could have sworn she was dreaming. Then reality, like the thumping pain in her right hand, came flooding back.

They separated quickly, McCoy refastening the buckle of his jeans as Adea hopped down from counter. Adea stared wordlessly at the floor, methodically running her un-bandaged hand through her hair to smooth it. She pulled the strap of her dress onto her shoulder, smoothing down its wrinkled front as the room spun dangerously. A wave of regret washed over she glanced away from her reflection as quickly as she'd seen it, her face burning as she wiped her hand over the lip gloss smudge around her mouth.

"I should go," she mumbled quickly, barely opening the door before she slipped out of the bathroom, closing it firmly behind her.

She hesitated as she reached the bedroom door, exhaling shakily as she leaned against the wall of Kirk's room. What the hell did she just do? Her breathing increased as she ran her hands over face, desperate to ignore the numbing tingle that still flow through her legs. She glanced nervously towards light seeping from under the bathroom door, swallowing dryly as she turned toward the low buzz echoing from the living room. _This had to be a dream. Some Saurian brandy-fueled nightmare._ She sucked in suddenly as clenched her injured pain, a sharp pang shooting through her arm.

_No. _

_Reality. _

_And one, no amount of Saurian brandy could ever prepare her for. _


	9. Pasts

Adea stepped gingerly out of her bathroom, pulling her wet hair into a messy knot atop her head. She'd managed to hold herself together long enough to slip away unnoticed from Kirk's party, mumbling off some excuse about needing to sleep and blood making her nauseous. _For once in her life, even Carol seemed to barely notice. _She ignored everything she knew about hangovers as she picked up her half-full wine glass from the coffee, pulling her sweatshirt of her knees at she sat on her bed.

_What the hell had come over her? _She frowned into her wine glass, regretting having replaced so many of Kirk's drinks. _At least then she could blamed alcohol for her choices… _Adea startled as a slow knock echoed in her room, swearing under her breath as the wine sloshed over the rim, splattering onto her rug. She exhaled slowly, setting the glass hastily on her night stand._Why couldn't she be left alone… _ Wine was barely drowning out the images flashing through her head. _The last thing she needed was more drama to mull over. _She lay back on her bed, closing her eyes as she prayed Carol, Kirk, or god forbid McCoy would leave her the hell alone. _Why was anyone even up at time? _After a minute of silence she exhaled shakily, opening a hesitant eye towards the door. She closed her eyes again, almost finding a moment of near peace as the knock echoed again.

She forgot about her hand as she pushed herself up quickly, a guilty knot in the pit of her stomach accompanying the sharp pang. She hesitated for a moment, her hand above the door as she mentally prepared herself for the person on other side. She exhaled through her teeth, her face flushing red as she opened the door, her eyes meeting McCoy's.

_It was bad enough her mind kept replaying it in her head. It was another thing to see him standing there in the same green sweater she'd nearly ripped off a few hours ago. _She stepped slowly out of the doorway, guilt twisting in her stomach as she caught herself staring after him. They stood in awkward silence as she shut the door behind him, her arms crossing nervously as she grappled where to start.

"I don't know what to say," Adea mumbled honestly, staring blankly at the floor, "I didn't mean for that to-"

Adea trailed off abruptly as she glimpsed the expression on his face.

"Lee, what-"

"I can't stop thinking about you, Adi," he spoke up suddenly, stepping towards her.

"What?" Adea breathed, her hands dropping to her side as his words echoing in her head.

"Dammit, I have tried to get you out of my head," he continued, his voice shaking with a quiet urgency, "But I can't. And I have no idea what this is or how any of it works without being a ticking time bomb, but I want you so badly it hurts."

"Lee-"

"I've fallen for you, Adi," he concluded slowly.

Adea stared back at him with wide eyes, rooted in place as her heart pounded in her ears. _Did he just say he'd fallen for her? _The room spun dangerously as her mind raced to catch up with the moment. _One minute they were joking...then kissing…_ _then..._She swayed sharply as his words finally registered, stepping backwards as she caught her balance.

"Why would you say that?" She whispered softly, her voice constricting in her throat as she stared back at him.

"Adi-"

"Why on earth would you say that?" Adea repeated, her breathing increasing rapidly as he moved closer to her, ""Is that supposed to make everything make sense? Did you just forget why you're even here? Why we're even having this conversation? Are you even going to mention whatever the hell just happened in Kirk's bathroom? Our _captain's_, bathroom?!"

She stared forward, another wave of guilt rolling through her as visions of her last words flashed through her mind.

"I don't know what the hell I was thinking earlier," Adea continued, shaking her head quickly, "But this, on this ship is playing with fire, Lee. It was stupid, and impulsive, and it _cannot_ happen again, Lee. _We_ cannot happen again."

"We shouldn't or that's how you feel?" McCoy questioned.

"Lee, it doesn't matter I feel," Adea snapped.

"So you do feel something?" McCoy countered softly.

"Yes-I mean, no. I-" Adea stuttered, her resistance crumbling as he stepped closer towards her.

"Then why do you still wear my Starfleet shirt?" He countered calmly, his thumb brushing her cheek.

Adea stared back at him in shock, her breath quickening as her mortified mind stumbled for an excuse. Part of her wanted to deny she still had, but if he'd seen it, she'd already been too careless. _Admitting she still missed what they had? _She thought guiltily to the party, her lips burning as if she'd been stung. It was bad enough her mind wandered to kissing him as often as it did, and it was even worse now that she'd acted on it. More than acted on it.

Adea looked up at him, the look burning in his dark eyes confirming he saw right through her reaction. She parted her lips to protest as he leaned forward suddenly, his lips pressing against hers. She'd barely registered responding to the kiss, when she pulled away sharply. She stared up at him, her lower lip trembling as her vision blurred.

"Lee, this will never work," Adea continued softly, looking up at him, "Someone will eventually figure out we didn't first meet on this ship and whatever hard work I've put in to be where I am will be reduced to having slept with my superior officer to get it. My judgemental family, who has held every mistake I've made over my head will never let something like this go if they found out."

"Adi, I know it's hard-"

"No you don't know," Adea replied sternly, "My family members involve themselves in everything I do and when I make the smallest mistake, they treat me like I'm incapable of doing anything right without their help. One of the only things I ever had that made me happy, and that they couldn't control or meddle with, was you."

"Adi-"

"This has to stop, Lee," Adea concluded slowly,

"So that's it?" McCoy started slowly, "Your family is difficult so you'd rather make yourself feel nothing?"

"It's more complicated than that," Adea replied bitterly.

"Then tell me about it, Adea!" McCoy pleaded, staring back at the distant pain building in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Lee," Adea exhaled shakily, "We can't do this again"

"Why not?" McCoy sighed, his voice shaking as it rose.

"Because I can't fall for you again without hurting the both of us, and I already am!" Adea snapped loudly, squeezing her eyes shut as a hot tear rolled down her cheek.

"Adea-"

"Please go," she mumbled quietly, unable to look him eye as wiped her face hastily with the edge of her sleeve.

He remained there for a moment longer, his hand caressing her shoulder softly, as he exhaled quietly through his nose. Adea stared numbly at the floor, crossing her arms across her chest as she heard the door shut behind her. She didn't bother turning off the light as she padded slowly to her bed, curling onto her side as she buried her face in her hands.

She knew this feeling would go away.

_It had to._

* * *

**Two weeks later**

* * *

"Now I know there's something wrong," Sulu concluded, staring at the full whiskey glass in front of McCoy.

McCoy raised an eyebrow in response, taking a reluctant sip of his glass, "Do you, now?"

They sat across from each other in the living room of the doctor's cabin. It had become a tradition of sorts between Sulu and McCoy, each bringing a new bottle of whiskey to sample. Though McCoy had still come this month, the absence of his characteristic enthusiasm for the event had not gone unnoticed to Sulu.

"This is the bottle of bourbon you gave me for my birthday last year," Sulu continued, drinking from his own glass, "You wouldn't shut up about it for two years. _For two years. _Now you won't even touch it. What gives?"

"Guess I'm just tired," McCoy replied dryly.

"Tired my ass," Sulu replied, "What is it? I have seen you this down since dock girl."

"Dock girl?" McCoy repeated slowly.

"That's what Kirk and I call her," Sulu explained, "The mystery girl you ran off to be with when the Enterprise landed after the Romulan mission. You could barely get off the ship when we docked. A few months later you were in a bad mood for weeks like a bad breakup."

_If Kirk and Sulu had noticed something he really needed to get a hold of himself…_

McCoy's frown deepened as he took another sip. It had been weeks since Kirk's party but Adea remained the last person he wanted to think about right now. These days it seemed he spent half his time thinking about her and the other half trying to put her out of his head. She'd walked away once and he had said nothing. So he'd left reason aside and told her. _Now she would barely look at him. _It had been weeks, and in spite of the logical voice in his head that told him to move on, he couldn't shake the feeling she might change her mind if he fought harder for her. _Either way, hoping didn't help._

_Maybe she was right...this would never work. _He knew Uhura could be difficult, but to be honest, he knew very little about the two of them, let alone their family. They barely spoke about each other, and he'd be damned if he'd ever heard them mention their parents. _If Uhura was difficult, what the hell were they?_ He'd seen the uncharacteristic fear in Adea's eyes when she mentioned them. It was so brief he would have missed it had he not seen it before, the night she had come to his apartment to apologize. It made him uneasy to see something scare her so much and downright sick feeling helpless to stop it.

"Since when do you and Kirk make conspiracy theories about my free time?" McCoy frowned, taking a generous sip from his glass.

"Since when are you so defensive, Doctor?" Sulu countered.

"It's not defensive, it's called tired," McCoy replied dryly, finishing his drink as he stood up slowly, "I'm going to head to bed."

"Hear me out first," Sulu offered.

"Hear what?" McCoy replied tiredly.

"I have a theory," Sulu proposed, "If I'm wrong, I shut up and leave, and next month's whiskey is on me too. If not, you're going to talk to me and help me finish this whiskey."

"I don't have time for your theories," McCoy sighed, growing annoyed at Sulu's insistence.

"It's Lieutenant Ele, isn't?" Sulu spoke up.

McCoy stared back at him, his brows furrowing.

"Wha-"

"She called you Lee one time in the cafeteria," Sulu continued, "You hate nicknames. So besides the handful of people on this ship that call you Bones, everyone here calls you McCoy or Doctor. So why does the newest recruit to the Enterprise call you by a nickname, that if I remember correctly, you only allow your own sister to use?"

Sulu paused, taking in McCoy's expression before continuing.

"She would have been a student at the Academy when we docked after the Romulan mission, but it's still possible that you knew her. If you did, that fact and her relation to Uhura would explain the secrecy then and now. It's her, isn't it?"

McCoy sat down slowly, facing Sulu. _The man had an eye for detail. _He could outright deny it, but if Sulu could figure out that much information from a nickname, it was pointless trying to get something past him. _Besides it wouldn't change anything now.._

"So this is what you and Kirk discuss in your free time?" McCoy refilling their glasses.

"I didn't tell Kirk who she is," Sulu replied, "He's good at a great many things, but subtlety is not one of them."

"You don't say," McCoy mused.

"So if it's Ele, what happened?" Sulu questioned, "You two seemed close. Now you're both burying yourselves in work and ignoring everyone."

"Since when are you so observant?" McCoy replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Ever since I heard her say Lee I have watched you two," Sulu continued, "I was testing my theory. She puts up a stoic wall like her sister, but when she's around you, she changes. She seems less guarded. She laughs. She talks about her life outside of Starfleet. And I'll be damned if that worried frown of yours doesn't vanish when she joins us. Now all I see two people miserably trying to convince each other they don't need each other."

"Are you cupid now?" McCoy retorted.

"No, but I'm your friend," Sulu replied, "If you want to sit around and be miserable, hoping it won't interfere with your work, that's your choice. But if you're going to waste good bourbon then, yes, I will intervene as necessary."

"Too late to intervene," McCoy stated bluntly, taking a long sip from his glass, "Adea's convinced it won't work, and she's probably right."

"So you're not convinced?" Sulu asked.

"What choice do I have?" McCoy mused dryly, "She's made up her mind."

"What choice do you have?" Sulu repeated, pressing on, "Did you try talking to her?"

"She doesn't want to," McCoy replied bluntly.

"So you didn't try?" Sulu pushed.

"If you want me to forget about this and drink with you, you're moving further from the point," McCoy growled, growing annoyed.

"So if there's nothing you can do, why not let her go?" Sulu countered calmly.

"Dammit Sulu, a moment ago, you were just guessing if our relationship exists. Now you know how it works?" McCoy snapped.

"So there is some fight still left in you," Sulu smirked slowly, "This mopey bourbon drinking had me worried."

"Are you done?" McCoy exhaled loudly, pitching the bridge of his nose.

Sulu shrugged in response, topping of McCoy's glass, "If she cares about you, seeing that you still care and would fight for her probably means more to her than she is willing to admit."

"Alright. Point made. Now enough of this concern for my love life for this evening," McCoy muttered, clinking Sulu's glass, "I'm a doctor, not a bachelorette contestant."

* * *

"You've been avoiding me," Carol stated, pacing into Adea's room.

"Busy with work," Adea replied simply, closing her door as she returned to the three screens projected over her desk.

"Work?" Carol repeated dryly, "You're preparing the report for an ongoing planet exploration. A bit overkill isn't it?"

"If my final few hours on Ujaar are as uneventful as the first few, then my report is nearly done," Adea shrugged, saving the screen view as she turned to Carol, "I'm not ignoring you."

"Bullshit," Carol snapped, her eyes trailing from Adea's unusually casual bun to her lack of makeup, "What is going on with you? You've been acting squirrelly ever since Kirk's party."

"I'm not acting squirrelly" Adea sighed, frowning as she crossed her arms, "Don't you have somewhere better to be?"

"C'mon, A, I haven't seen you this bent out of shape since," Carol trailed off abruptly, her eyes growing wide as she stared up at Adea, "Did something happen with McCoy?"

"You honestly don't have anywhere else to be on this ship right now?" Adea huffed, edging past Carol as placed her PADD in the bag on her bed.

"Wait, something happened with McCoy?" Carol questioned, "What happened with McCoy?"

"Nothing," Adea snapped, returning to her desk to switch off her projector.

"Adea, don't try to deny it now," Carol pressed on, "Spill"

"Carol-" Adea warned.

"Spill!" Carol ordered.

"Can you just drop it, Carol?" Adea huffed.

"Adea Uhura-Ele, I swear if you don't tell me I will-"

"Fine!" Adea snapped, averting Carol's eyes as she stared at floor, "I slept with McCoy."

"You slept with McCoy?" Carol repeated slowly, her eyes growing impossibly wider, "What? When?"

"It doesn't matter Carol. It was a mistake," Adea groaned, " I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

"Wait, is that why he left Kirk's party so shortly after you did?" Carol questioned.

"He left right after I did?" Adea replied, a cold pang of guilt burning in her stomach.

"What do you mean? Of course he did," Carol replied, "Why would-"

She trailed off abruptly, her hands clapping over her mouth as she stared back at Adea.

"You hooked up with McCoy at Kirk's party?" Carol asked, the red blush blazing across Adea's cheeks confirming her question as she pressed on, "Wait, did you two hook up in Kirk's room when you got hurt?"

"Car-"

"Oh my god, Adi, you did, didn't you!" Carol replied, a giddiness shading the shock in her voice

"Yes, well I wasn't exactly thinking my actions through in the moment, Carol," Adea frowned, crossing her arms as she avoided Carol's gaze.

"Who knew the doctor was such a freak," Carol mused, nudging Adea's shoulder.

"Drunk, Carol," Adea corrected, growing frustrated, "And you're not helping,"

"What? You can't tell me you never had that fantasy," Carol replied, raising an eyebrow at Adea.

"Believe it or not, no, Carol," Adea hissed, "I've never had the fantasy of risking court martial by drunkenly screwing the ship's doctor in the captain's bathroom. So drop it Carol."

"You can't honestly tell me no part of you found that exciting," Carol continued.

"Dammit Carol!" Adea snapped, tossing her mission wristband onto her bed, "Can't you just let it go?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Carol snapped back, "You spend years pining after him, beating yourself up because you never told him how you felt the first time, and now you're going to snap at me, because for some inexplicable reason you've gone and changed your mind again."

"What the hell do you know about what I want, Carol?" Adea retorted.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Adea?" Carol shouted, "Every other week you complain to me when you change your mind about him."

"I told you to drop it," Adea shot back, "I didn't want to talk about this."

"About what happened? Or that you're denying how you feel about him _again_?" Carol retorted.

"Goddamnit, Carol, stay out of it!" Adea snapped back, "Nothing will happen with him again!"

"Why the hell not, Adi?!" Carol yelled.

"Because falling for me is what got Adam killed!" Adea shouted back.

Adea breathed heavily as she stared forward at Carol, her body growing numb as she felt the cold tendrils of guilt constricting her chest. She glanced up at Carol, watching the shock in her eyes fade to concern.

"What?" Carol muttered quietly, her mouth still open in shock as she stared back at Adea, "Adi, you told me-"

"I told you he left," Adea stated, her voice low as she stared forward blankly, "That he said he wanted to marry me, so I panicked because I wasn't ready. I told Nyota, and she told our mother. She told me to leave him, so I got scared and I ended it."

"Adi, you said you never heard from him again," Carol replied softly.

"I didn't," Adea answered quietly, "He never talked to me again, and I was too scared to say something again. I didn't even know he died until I saw his name on a casualties list."

"Adi, what happened?" Carol questioned softly.

"He was aboard the USS Constellation on the edge of Federation space, when it encountered the Romulan ship that destroyed Vulcan," Adea continued slowly, her voice cracking with emotion, "The ship didn't even stand a chance. It was obliterated. The hull breach was so catastrophic, the entire crew died within minutes."

"Adi, you can't blame yourself for that," Carol replied slowly.

"No, Carol, I can. I was the reason he was assigned to the USS Constellation" Adea stated, trembling as she looked up at Carol, "He was supposed to be assigned to a higher class ship, the USS Bradbury, but a few weeks before he left he was transferred a ship posted at the limits of Federation space. I had wanted to see why he left, so I went and I found the transfer documents. He didn't request a transfer, Carol. My mother ordered it. She signed it the day after she told me I was better off without him."

"Oh Adi," Carol breathed, frowning as Adea shrugged her hand off her shoulder.

"I can't fall for McCoy again because I can't risk something happening to him," Adea concluded, her voice breaking as a hot tear slid down her cheek, "If my mother thought anything about McCoy was threat to me, she has the power to destroy his career in Starfleet. Or transfer him to a battlefront in the middle of who knows where. Starfleet is everything to him. I couldn't live with myself if I was the reason something bad happened to him."

"Adi, I'm so sorry," Carol responded softly.

She watched Adea as she returned to packing the bag on her bed, biting the nail of her thumb.

"Does anyone else know?" Carol asked slowly, "McCoy? Your sister?"

Adea shook her head quickly, wiping her face hastily as she glanced at her watch.

"I have to report to Engineering soon to retrieve my EV suit," Adea muttered quietly, "I'll meet you there."

"Do you want me to wait with you?" Carol asked softly.

"It's fine," Adea replied, placing her wristband into her bag, "It's in the past. It doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm not so sure about that, A," Carol stated quietly, squeezing Adea's shoulder softly as she made her way to the door, closing it quietly behind her.

* * *

**Ujaar - Class L Planet.**

**Ruins of the Old Medina.**

* * *

"_Mini, get a move on,_" Kirk's voice urged.

"Working on it," Adea answered in a low voice, pulling the scarf higher over her nose as she paced towards Sulu's location at the other end of the old medina market.

Half a century ago, a large civil war had wiped out most of the Ujaar's life and resources, rendering it a class L planetoid. Save a handful nomadic tribes and transient black-market traders, the region and its medina remained sparsely inhabited. She stepped over a fallen column in her path, fiddling uncomfortably with her earpiece. Though the planet did not fall under Starfleet's prime directive, Kirk thought it best to conceal all Starfleet insignia to avoid unwanted attention from the few remaining locals. Save the uncomfortable earpiece, hidden under her dark Tuareg scarf, she was dressed the part of a transient trader, from her leather jacket down to the black market Klingon phaser they'd confiscated on a previous mission.

"_ETA?_" came Sulu's voice.

"Twenty minutes," Adea huffed, climbing across another set of ruins, "Someone told me it was faster to go left."

"_Aye, sorry lass," _Scotty apologized.

"_You do know the point of sending Sulu was so you would have someone to cover your six,_" Kirk pointed out.

"Yeah, well, he wouldn't fit through," she grunted, landing hard as she jumped down from the wall she walking on, "There was wreckage across the entrance."

"_It's not safe,_" admonished Uhura's worried tone.

"Nothing in Starfleet ever is," Adea mumbled under her breath, "Beside I'm-"

Adea fell silent as a loud crash sounded through the medina. She jumped beneath a pillar as the ruins shook, narrowly avoiding chunks of the ceiling as they clattered to the ground.

"_Mini, what the hell was that?_" sounded Kirk's voice.

"I-" She frowned at the static in the earpiece, "I don't know. Enterprise, do you copy?"

An indistinguishable gargle floated through the static as Adea pulled out her phaser, her heart pounding in her chest as the weapon hummed on.

"Sulu, do you copy?"

The transmitter squelched again through the static. Adea exhaled shakily, pulling the scarf from over her face.

"Dammit, do you copy?"

A bright light burst through the market, illuminating the main corridor. Adea frowned, stepping cautiously into the corridor with her hand raised to blinding light.

"Sulu?" she called out cautiously.

Loud shouts echoed in the distance, as she heard footsteps running towards her. She stepped backwards cautiously, her phaser raised.

"Sulu, is that-"

The runner collided hard with her, sending the two of them spiralling to the ground, as the impact knocked the wind out of Adea's lungs. She lay there for a moment, dark points dancing in her vision as the person tried to pull her to a seated position, shouting at her urgently.

"What?" Adea mumbled slowly, the frantic Andorian woman before her coming into focus.

The woman gestured towards Adea's phaser, moving behind her to pull her to her feet. She pushed the phaser into Adea's hands, pointing at it again. Adea's earpiece chimed as the universal translator rebooted. _Language detected: Andorian. Commencing translation._

"Like your gun!" She shouted, "If you stay, you will die! There is a ship, this way."

"Like my gun?" Adea mused, glancing warily towards the bright light.

"We have to run!" the woman shouted, yanking Adea's arm, "This way!"

"Why-" Adea mumbled, falling silent as a clearer voice echoed through the medina.

_"BE'VETLH TU' !'" _

Adea's blood ran cold as she glanced quickly between her weapon and the woman. She knew that dialect. _Klingons._

"Run!" The woman hissed again, yanking Adea aside as a large hole was blasted into the fallen column where Adea had stood.

Adea sprinted after the woman, clamoring over the ruined stones of the medina. They took a sharp left, skidding across the stones as they came to the open air center of the old market. Muffled sounds echoed through the static as a voice finally became clear.

"_Ele, do you copy!_"

"Sulu! Where are you? I'm still in the medina. We're being pursued by Klingons."

"_Ele, you need to get out of there now_," Sulu urged, "_Your signal is bouncing. Chekov can't beam you. The Enterprise beamed me up once I was far enough from the ship to avoid detection. Get out of the medina!"_

"Working-" She dodged another blast, "-on it!"

She turned sharply, following the woman down another narrow corridor towards a corner of the medina Adea had not explored.

"Through here, there is a clearing," the woman gestured, coming to a brief stop, "My ship is there."

"_Adea_," came Uhura's voice, "_Get out of the medina. You can't let them find your phaser. If they catch you with it, they will assume you stole it or killed one of their own for it. They will kill you. Do not fire it. They will recognize it."_

"What fucking good does that do?!" Adea hissed, glancing over her shoulder towards the fading shouts. She turned slowly to the woman, her phaser raised.

"Who are you?" Adea ordered, "What are you doing on Ujaar?"

The woman raised her right hand to Adea, fumbling shakily with the folds of her coats to present the silver crescent badge to Adea. Adea lowered the phaser slowly, recognizing the symbol of the Andorian Science Division.

"I am Sozia. I am here doing research for my ship. I came here alone on a small craft from the main ship," the woman explained quickly, gesturing nervously towards center of the medina, "The Klingons appeared from nowhere. They saw a man beam away nearby and they spotted me. We were not expecting trouble. I am unarmed."

The woman stepped towards Adea, shakily extending her arms for Adea to verify her story. Adea checked the woman quickly, finding nothing.

"Lieutenant Adea Ele," Adea replied shortly, "I'm a lieutenant aboard the USS Enterprise."

"We have to go, Adea Ele," Sozia urged, "They won't be far behind."

"_Mini, get the hell out of there!_" Kirk's voice shouted, "_That's an order._"

"Enterprise," Adea began, pacing quickly after Sozia, "There is an Andorian science officer with me. We're trying to get to a clearing on the western end of the medina. Can you beam me up from there?"

"_Aye!_" Scotty shouted, "_But you have to be in the clearing. The buildings are interfering with your signal. You need to move!_"

"I know," Adea hissed, skidding to a stop as the Klingon shouts echoed suddenly echoed on the same street. Sozia pulled her quickly into a side street, a finger raised to her lips.

"It is through there," Sozia whispered, her dark grey eyes wide as she raised her arm towards a nearby street, "At the end of this-"

Sozia fell silent as hot droplets splattered across Adea's face, a spiked Klingon chain skidding to a metallic halt on the cobblestones. Adea stared forward blankly at the mangled blue stump where Sozia's extended hand had been. The moment of surreal horror seemed to move in slow motion until Sozia let a blood-curdling scream, collapsing to the ground as she clutching her spraying limb. Adea's stomach lurched as she stumbled dazed into the wall behind her, nearly vomiting.

"_Adea!_" Uhura shouted, "_Adea, copy!_"

Adea snapped out of her daze as another Klingon shout rang out in the street, this time no more than a few meters away. She glanced quickly into the street, taking in as much as she could before she dodged blast near her head. There were two, maybe three Klingons at the end of the street, arm to the hilt. They were further away than Adea had thought, but still close. _Definitively within firing range if she and Sozia crossed the alley to the clearing. _Adea glanced quickly at Sozia, biting her tongue to keep her stomach from lurching as she surveyed the wound. Sozia was in no condition to make it to the clearing alone, even if it was a few meters away. _If she helped Sozia, she couldn't provide cover. If she couldn't provide cover, they were both dead. _Adea frowned, glancing at her weapon as she tried to drown out the voices hailing her from the Enterprise. _If she failed to provide cover and the Klingons caught her, they wouldn't just be dead. They'd die horribly at hands of Klingon torturers. _Adea inhaled sharply, switching the phaser on.

_Here goes nothing._

Adea swung into the alleyway, firing upwards in rapid succession at the stone archways above the path. She narrowly sidestepped a phaser blast, covering her head as the archways collapsed into a stone pile between her in the Klingons. Adea raced back to the alleyway, dust fluttering up from the pile as the Klingons continued fire from the other side.

"_Adea, copy!_" Uhura shouted, her voice desperate.

"Copy," Adea replied quickly, rushing to Sozia, "The Klingons attacked us. Sozia is badly injured. I need authorization to get her aboard the Enterprise. I don't think she can make it back to her ship."

"_Who?!_"

"I need authorization now!" Adea shouted back, yanking the scarf off her head as she tied it tightly around around Sozia's arm in a makeshift tourniquet. She fumbled for Sozia's badge, straining as she tried to make out words.

"Sozia Zh'tilret," Adea read slowly "Andorian Science division. She told me she came here with a small craft. Her reporting ship is the AS Asiti? Eviti? I can't make it out."

Adea looked forward, frowning as she took in Sozia's paling face.

"Sozia, I need you to help me," Adea pleaded, "I can't carry you towards the ship by myself. I need you to walk with me. Can you do that?"

The woman nodded faintly, extending her uninjured arm as Adea pulled her to feet.

"_AS Ositi_," Kirk replied urgently, "_We confirmed it. You have authorization, but get your ass to that clearing now!_"

Adea stumbled as the woman leaned heavily on her, pulling her past the rubble arches as the shouts grew louder. Adea heaved her down the alley, gripping Sozia's waist as they neared the clearing.

"Beam us out!" Adea shouted, tripping into the clearing as Sozia slumped.

Adea head snapped towards the alleyway as the stones of the barricade clattered. She could see the light of their phasers now. _It wouldn't be long before they got through. _She glanced down at Sozia, her heart racing as she watched her eyes fluttering closed.

"Scotty! Now!" Adea shouted, "She's falling unconscious. I won't be able to carry her much longer."

A tingling sensation spread through Adea's body as loud blast echoed behind her. She glanced towards the medina, the shadowy figures of Klingons fading slowly. With a bright white light, Adea landed hard on the floor of the Enterprise, her arm wrapped around Sozia's limp torso. She looked up woozily, barely having a moment to take in Scotty's blank expression before someone rushed her, grasping her shoulders.

"Adea, what the hell did you do?!"


	10. Sisters

"Adea, what the hell did you do?" Nyota repeated, "You were supposed to stay with Sulu!"

"Sozia needs medical attention. Now," Adea breathed, "Scotty-"

"Already done," he replied, gesturing towards the fading gold beams as Sozia's unconscious form vanished, "Adi, lass, are you ok?"

"Where is Sulu? What happened down there?" she mumbled quickly.

"What happened down there? You nearly got yourself killed by going off on your own," Uhura hissed, "Do you know what would have happened if they caught you? Or what type of intergalactic incident it would have caused if you would've killed one of them?"

"You think I don't know how a violent encounter with the Klingons would impact diplomatic relations?" Adea breathed, "Why the hell were there Klingons on Ujaar?"

"They were tracking something in the south end of the medina," Uhura replied quickly, "It could have damn well been you, Adea."

"Could have been," Adea exhaled shakily, glancing down at the dark blue blood staining her hands.

"Adea, do you honestly not care?" Uhura snapped, stepping towards her sister.

"Get out of my face," Adea groaned, her stomach knotting uneasily as she heard her boot squelch against the bloody floor, "Scotty, where's Kirk? Sulu?"

"Sulu's fine and they're both on the Bridge, but are _you_ alright, lass?," Scotty frowned.

A few inches more, and that mangled mess could have been Sozia's head. _Or her own._ Adea exhaled shakily as visions of the attacked flashed in her mind, summoning every last ounce of her focus to ignore the spinning of the room. _Blood. Why was there so much blood?_

"It's fine. It will pass," Adea affirmed weakly, clenching her hands to stop them from shaking.

"Fine? Are you stupid, Adea? You could have died!" Uhura hissed, "Did you think about that?"

"Oi, Lieutenant. I don't think this is the best time," Scotty spoke up, pacing towards the two of them as he glanced towards Adea, "You look like you're going to be sick, lass."

"It's not important right now," Adea stated, pushing shakily past her sister, "Scotty, can you-"

"Damn it, Adea, are you insane?" Nyota snapped, her voice rising as she grabbed Adea's upper arm, "What if that had been you?"

"Get the hell off me, Nyota," Adea breathed, snatching her arm away from her sister as she paced unsteadily towards the door, "Scotty, tell the captain I will report in a half-hour. I have to change out of this."

She needed to get away. _If she wasn't going to faint, she was going to be sick. _Adea shouldered past Nyota, passing Scotty as she paced into the hall, staggering against the wall as the room spun faster. _Oh God, it was everywhere. Under her nails, across her face, soaking into her scarf._ She pressed her fingers against her temples, barely hearing the voices rising behind her until they spilled out into the corridor.

"You need to calm down!" Scotty shouted.

"Calm down? Scotty, my sister almost died!" Uhura snapped back.

"Adea, did you even bother to think of anyone other than yourself?" Uhura called out after her, charging down the hallway towards her.

"Shut up," Adea warned weakly, the room spinning faster.

"Oi, Uhura, that is enough!" Scotty shouted following after her.

"Honestly, Adea-" Nyota shouted.

"Please shut the hell up, Nyota," Adea groaned, pressing harder into her temples.

_Why wouldn't the room stop spinning?_

"Lieutenant, that is far enough!"

"Stay out of this, Scotty," Nyota snapped, pacing after her..

Adea ignored her as rushed forward, her sister's ranting fading into the blur of the room as it spun faster still. _Why couldn't Nyota leave her alone? _It was too much. _Too loud. Too much spinning. Too much blood. _Adea wavered unsteadily, dark points beginning to dance in her vision as a loud voice rang out in the hall. Her attention snapped back to the hall as she looked up slowly, a wave of relief slowing the room as she spied McCoy.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" McCoy shouted, pacing towards them he glared between Scotty and Uhura, "I can hear you two shouting down the hall."

He surveyed the room quickly, exhaling slowly as his eyes found Adea. He paced forward quickly, steadying her as she swayed forward again.

"Are you ok?" he breathed, relief flashing in his eyes as he steadied her shoulders, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, just dizzy," she mumbled quickly, grasping his arms for support, "Sozia?"

"She is alive," McCoy reassured quietly, frowning as she shook against his hands, "Adi, I know you don't feel well right now, but I need you to breathe in slowly. Can you do that?"

She nodded as she inhaled slowly, the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears fading gradually. McCoy reached forward slowly to check her pulse, his thumb brushing her cheek as he placed two fingers against her neck.

"Look at me," he instructed softly, his frown deepening as he looked into her eyes.

"It's probably shock still wearing off," Adea mumbling quietly as he removed his scanner his waistband, holding it up to her temple.

"You're going to lecture a doctor on shock?" McCoy mused, a relieved smirk tugging at the edge of mouth as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What wrong with her, Bones?" Uhura asked, crossing her arms.

"She's exhibiting symptoms of shock," McCoy concluded, "They should hopefully improve on their own, but she needs to be monitored. I don't want it to get worse. I'll take her up to the medical bay."

"I'm going with her," Uhura stated, stepping towards them.

"After screaming at her down the hall?" McCoy mused, "You're not going anywhere until you calm down."

"Calm down?" Uhura repeated, raising her voice as she stepped towards McCoy, "Bones, my sister-"

"Is in shock," McCoy retorted sternly, "You might've notice this if you weren't busy pitching a fit and making it worse."

"Making it _worse_?" Uhura repeated.

"I'm not debating this with you right now, Uhura," McCoy his tone steady as he stepped towards her, "You're staying here until you can calm down."

"I will go wherever I damn well want to," Uhura hissed

"Watch your tone, Lieutenant," McCoy warned in a low voice.

"Watch my tone? Damn it Bones, I am coming," Uhura stated, "You have no right-"

"No right?" McCoy drawled, taking a measured step towards Uhura.

He came to pause a few inches from Uhura, staring down as her as she continued to glare up at him.

"I am not debating this with you any further, so let me make myself clear," McCoy drawled, his expression growing cold, "Shock is not an emotion but a medical condition, and as a medical condition, her care falls under my authority as Chief Medical Officer. So unless you want to be officially reprimanded for causing harm to another crew member and violating of the direct order of a _commanding_ officer, you _will_ keep your distance from Lieutenant Ele until otherwise instructed."

Uhura took a step back from him, her mouth pulled into a tight line as she glared up at him.

"Is that clear enough for you, Lieutenant?" McCoy concluded, the warning wavering in his low tone.

"Yes, _Doctor_," she hissed, her shoulder roughly brushing McCoy's as she stormed out of the room.

McCoy exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked up towards Scotty.

"Scotty," he sighed in a low voice, "Keep an eye Lieutenant Uhura until she can calm herself down. Find Doctor Wallace and ask her to bring change of clothes for Lieutenant Ele to the medical bay. I'll report to the bridge when I'm done tending to her."

"Aye," Scotty nodded, disappearing around the corner.

Adea followed McCoy wordlessly into the elevator, uncrossing her arms as the doors closed behind them. She exhaled deeply, leaning her head against McCoy's chest as the spinning began to slow.

"You're alright, Adi," McCoy murmured softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as she pulled closer to him.

He rested his chin against the top of her head, exhaling through his nose as he felt her trembling begin to slow.

"You can shower in my apartment if you want," McCoy offered quietly, "It's right next to the lab. Might keep everyone out of your hair for half a second."

She nodded wordlessly, exhaling slowly as her breathing calmed.

"If you feel like you're going to faint, let me know," McCoy muttered against her hair, "Or sit down. Falling over from two feet is better than five. Can't have you breaking your head in two."

"I'm not going to faint," Adea huffed, looking up slowly as McCoy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you see I don't trust your stubbornness," McCoy drawled, brushing her cheek softly, "You would be floating in space without a helmet, going on about how you have enough air."

"I would do no such thing," Adea smirked weakly, exhaling steadily as the elevator chimed.

"Mhmm," McCoy hummed, eyeing her with a raised brow as they left the elevator, "C'mon, let's get you treated. I'm not sending you off on your own until your heart rate goes down."

* * *

"About damn time," Kirk said, rotating to face McCoy as he entered the bridge, "Bones, status report."

"Sozia's stabilized," McCoy stated, "The injury severed the radial and ulnar arteries but the tourniquet prevented the injury from being lethal. She'll live, albeit without a hand. She will be stable enough to transfer in forty-eight hours if she remains as she is now."

"How's Mini?" Kirk asked.

"She'll be alright," McCoy replied, "The shock is wearing off now. She's otherwise uninjured."

Kirk nodded slowly as Spock approached the bridge.

"I find it curious, Captain, that three Klingon warbirds would arrived cloaked and armed at the precise time and location of our officers. There has been no Klingon activity in or near this system in months." Spock observed.

"I don't like it either, Spock," Kirk added, turning back to Sulu, "Mr. Sulu, did anything seem out of the ordinary?"

"No, Sir," Sulu replied.

"Did Mini report anything?" Kirk asked.

"Nothing more than you would have heard on the transmissions," Sulu concluded.

Kirk inhaled slowly, glancing back to Spock.

"I got confirmation on the Ositi and the USS Jamestown. They've been working in tandem on a joint mission for the past year," Kirk sighed slowly, "Sozia's story matches up with that of her ship but something still doesn't add up here. I want to know why the hell armed Klingons were this far from the Q'onoS System before another crew member gets hurt."

Spock nodded curtly, returning to his seat.

"Bones, let me know when Mini and our Andorian guest are able to talk," Kirk continued, "I want a full briefing from both of them."

"I'm here," Adea breathed, the doors of the bridge sliding shut behind her.

Her wet braid swung behind her as she paced towards the bridge, stopping a few meters before Kirk.

"Is she cleared?" Uhura spoke up, glaring towards McCoy as she stood abruptly.

"Doctor?" Adea asked, avoiding her sister's glare as she shot him a pleading look.

"Yeah," McCoy replied tersely, eyeing Adea as he crossed his arms, "She's cleared."

"Mini, what the hell happened down there?" Kirk asked.

"I'm not sure," Adea replied, "It was quiet and uneventful. I tried to get further into the medina for final hour of the mission, after the yesterday's visit and the first few hours this morning. The planet and medina appeared to confirm what I put in my pre-mission report-the planet's all but abandoned-at least the part we were exploring. I was on my way back to Sulu, when there was a bright light in the medina. Sozia ran into me and pulled me away as the Klingons started firing. I delayed their advance by causing an archway to collapse, but they injured Sozia. We made it to the clearing, at which point the Enterprise beamed us up."

"Were there any signs of Klingons that you saw on the planet?" Spock questioned, standing now as he moved besides Kirk, "Dwellings? Technology?"

"Nothing," Adea replied, shaking her head slowly.

"Is it possible you missed something?" Uhura spoke up, crossing her arms.

"I would have remembered signs of a Klingon presence if I had seen them," Adea replied decisively, "There were none, Commander. I was only aware of their presence when I heard them."

"Heard them?" Kirk questioned.

"_Be'vetlh tu'_," Adea stated, "_Find that woman. _They shouted it after they shined something into the medina."

"Uhura?" Kirk asked, glancing towards the linguist.

"The translation is sound," Uhura concluded.

"Curious," Spock commented, retrieving his PADD as he began scrolling rapidly through the screen.

"Were they trailing Sozia?" Adea questioned, glancing nervously towards Kirk.

"It is unclear if that was their immediate target," Spock stated, projecting a map of Ujaar onto a larger screen, "However, it does appears they were in fact tracking you, Lieutenant Ele. Intercepted communications indicate the Klingons landed at two points on Ujaar in the past 48 hours. Both points correspond to areas of the planet explored by Lieutenant Ele independently of Commander Sulu."

Adea stared back at him, heat rising to her face as she felt the eyes of the room on her.

"That's not possible," Sulu spoke up cautiously, "How would they find one of us and not the other? We had identical gear and nearly identical moments."

"Precisely," Spock concluded, "They landed at the edge of the old harbor and the southernmost corner of the medina: the two points Lieutenant Ele indicated in mission logs she explored alone."

"That doesn't make any sense," Adea breathed, shaking her head slowly, "One of combatants had a bat'leth. They were armed for conflict. What did they expect to find?"

"I don't like it," Kirk stated, eyeing the blue movements traced over Spock's map of Ujaar, "I don't like it at all. Commander Spock, alert Starfleet command that we narrowly circumvented a hostile conflict with the Klingons. Alert me of any new information which should be recorded in the ship's log."

"Captain," Spock nodded curtly, returned to screen.

"Lieutenant Uhura, see to it we intercept every Klingon message on and near Ujaar," Kirk ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Uhura answered.

"Sulu, Mini," Kirk continued, "I want you two to help me debrief Sozia. If you remember anything more, anything at all, you will report it to me and Commander Spock immediately."

"Yes sir," they answered quickly.

"And Mini?" Kirk added, his frown softening as gaze fell on her, "For the love of God, keep yourself in one piece. That's an order."

"Sir," Adea nodded, turning on her heel as she exited the bridge.

She barely made it halfway down hall when the doors to the bridge slid open again, her headache returning as she recognized the frustrated tone.

"Where are you going?" Uhura called out.

"Has it occurred to you that I have had enough for one day?" Adea sighed, turning reluctantly to face her sister.

"Are you going to say anything about today, Adea?" Uhura snapped angrily, "You nearly die and you still have nothing to say to me?"

"Are you concerned I nearly died? Or do you want blame my decision making?" Adea retorted dryly, "I'm really losing track of your opinions today."

"So that's it?" Uhura huffed, "You ignore orders and go off on your own, got one woman's arm ripped off, nearly get yourself killed, and you don't give a shit?"

"Well I'm sorry you now give a damn about my wellbeing," Adea replied coldly.

"Damn it, do you care about anyone else but yourself, Adea?" Uhura snapped, her voice rising.

"Apparently not," Adea snapped sarcastically, turning away from Uhura as she continued down the hall.

"And will that be your excuse when you fuck up bad enough to get someone killed?" Nyota snapped.

"Well then, I'm sure I'll have my sister to personally thank," Adea retorted coldly, resentment burning in her eyes as she stared back at her sister.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nyota replied, confusion twisting into her tone as she stared after Adea, rooted in place in the hallway.

"It means leave me alone, Nyota," Adea stated coldly, pacing away from her sister.

"Adea!" Uhura called out, her footsteps echoing as she raced after.

"Leave me alone," Adea hissed.

"Damn it, Adea, what the hell does that mean?!" Uhura shouted, grabbing her sister's shoulder as spun Adea to face her.

"It means you cannot possibly get out of your own head long enough to see that you make my life a living hell!" Adea shouted, jerking away from Uhura as her voice dropped deathly low, "And I have spent my entire life trying to get away from you. Trying to have something, anything, that was mine, something that you couldn't ruin! But eventually, I lose everything and everyone because of you!"

"Everyone?" Uhura repeated slowly, concern twisting in her stomach as she stared back at the pain burning in her sister's eyes, "Adea, what are you-"

"Adam," Adea replied quietly.

"Adam?" Nyota repeated, watching her sister's expression grow cold, "What about Adam?"

"He's dead," Adea stated simply, her tone unemotional.

"What?" Nyota breathed, her controlled composure cracking as she processed her sister's words, "Adea, what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" Adea mused coldly, letting out a dry laugh, "Well that's a new response, Nyota. I barely recognize you actually give shit to understand what I'm talking about. You usually just jump right into kicking me when I'm down."

"When did he die?" Nyota repeated, the frustration in her voice slipping towards worry, "Adea, what happened?"

"Ask our mother," Adea retorted bitterly, "It's her name on the goddamn transfer, but you should know that already. You tell eachother everything."

"Adea, I-I didn't know-"

"Stay the hell out of my life, Nyota," Adea stated coldly, storming off without another word.

Nyota's jaw tensed as Adea disappeared around the corner, a coldness seeping down her spine as Adea's words reverberated in her head. She swallowed nervously, staring hard at the ground as heart pounded louder in her ears. They were never truly close, but this was different. _The look in Adea's eyes… _Uhura fought back the waves of guilt that threatened to overtake composure as she thought back to their conversations, years of Adea's words slowly weaving together. _It had to be a mistake. An oversight. The wrong person. Anything… _Nyota startled as footsteps echoed suddenly in the hall, her eyes flickering frantically towards their owner as McCoy appeared around the corner.

"Lieutenant, what are you-" McCoy trailed off suddenly, catching sight of the panicked expression in her eyes, "Are you alright?"

"Your PADD," Nyota mumbled faintly, glancing up towards the tablet in his hand.

"What?" McCoy replied slowly, his eyebrows knitting as he glanced down at the PADD

"Your PADD," Nyota repeated, her voice cracking as she raised her voice, "Can I see it?"

"Sure," McCoy replied slowly, his mouth pulling into a concerned frown as he held it out to her, "What's going on?"

"I need to see something," she muttered quietly, her grip shaking slightly as she typed into the screen.

"Is everything alright, Lieutenant?" McCoy questioned hesitantly, crossing his arms uneasily as he eyed her frenzied searching.

"Just give me a moment," Uhura replied hastily, her mouth pulling into a tight line as she scrolled through a list, opening a new page.

"You're starting to worry me now, Uhura," McCoy stated, frowning as she continued to scroll wordlessly, "What is it?"

_What was with her today? _Her reaction after Adea returned was bad enough. _Now she felt the need to follow Adea off the bridge to continue their argument? _He hesitated a minute or so before following them, wholeheartedly expecting part two of today's ongoing Uhura-Ele War. _What was going on now? _God forbid he'd missed it and Uhura had already sent Adea storming off to who-know-where in the goddamn ship. _Wasn't this morning not enough drama for her? _

_Goddamn transmission quality… _

His heart had nearly stopped when he'd heard that scream, the entire bridge freezing over until the moment he'd heard her voice crackling back in over the speaker. He'd barely rattled off instructions to the medical staff to stabilize Sozia before he'd run out of the room, the world around him blurring until he'd finally found Adea. _Blood-splattered and wide-eyed from shock, but alive_. In all his years as a doctor, he couldn't recall ever being so relieved to see someone alive.

His thoughts snapped abruptly to the present as Uhura let out a gasp, her hand clapping over her mouth as McCoy's concern returned.

"Uhura, what is it?" McCoy pressed, his voice growing urgent as her eyes welled up with tears.

"What did I do to her?" Nyota mumbled numbly to herself, her hand falling from her mouth as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Now you're scaring me," McCoy breathed, his brows knitting as he crossed his arms uneasily, "Are you talking about Adea? Is she ok?"

"I don't know," Nyota replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?" McCoy replied sternly.

"That's why she never forgave me," Nyota muttered faintly, her eyes distant as she stared forward blankly.

"Forgave you?" McCoy repeated, clenching his jaw to prevent his building frustration from spilling over, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? What's wrong?"

"Adam," Uhura uttered quietly, shaking her head slowly as she as she wiped her face on the back of her sleeve.

"Adam?" McCoy repeated, a cold guilt creeping down his spine he thought of the first time he'd heard that name, "Who's Adam?"

"He was Adea's first boyfriend. They dated in high school and her first year at the Academy, until he wanted more and Adea broke it off," Nyota replied quietly, a tear falling down his face, "He's dead. His ship was attacked by the Romulans and he died."

McCoy stared wordlessly the Lieutenant, the heavy knot in the pit of his stomach twisting tighter as she wiped away another tear.

"I-I did this," Nyota mumbled numbly, "It's all my fault."

"What? "McCoy breathed, shaking his head slowly, "His ship was attacked by Romulans. How is that your fault?:

"Because he never should have been on that ship to begin with," Nyota concluded weakly.

"That doesn't make any sense," McCoy replied slowly.

"He was supposed to be assigned to the Bradbury," Nyota explained quietly, blinking away a tear as she handed the PADD to McCoy, "He was transferred two weeks before departure to another ship on a longer mission, the USS Constellation. The ship he died on."

"I don't get it," McCoy replied quietly, his eyes scanning over the transfer order,"What did you have to do with this?"

"Adea told me Adam wanted to propose to her. I know what to do, so I panicked I told our mother," Nyota stated numbly, "This transfer wasn't an accident. Our mother was the one who ordered it."

"What?" McCoy breathed, frowning as his mind raced to comprehend her words, "This transfer order is signed by-"

McCoy trailed off abruptly as he caught the look in Uhura's eyes, a sinking weight building in his chest as he finally made sense of her words.

"Your mother?" McCoy blurted out, his mouth falling open in shock as he reread the name, "That's your mother?!"

"We hate mentioning it, because we were always treated differently once people knew," Nyota replied quietly, "Barely anyone knows."

McCoy stared forward blankly, Uhura's words and the hall around him blurring into nothingness. He ran a hand over his face, unable to ignore the guilt wracking his mind as memories of Adea flashed in his mind. _Lee, please. There was someone else…. I didn't want to lose you….. I didn't want you to get hurt…. I can't fall for you without hurting both of us. _

_That's what she had been trying to tell him. _Standing right in front him, begging him to let her talk.

_And he didn't want to hear her._

He didn't even try.

"I'm sorry, Bones," Nyota replied suddenly, quickly stepping backwards as she took in the uncharacteristic distress in McCoy's eyes, "I-I didn't mean to burden you with this."

"Yeah," McCoy replied quietly, his focus fading in and out another wave of horrified guilt flooded his mind.

"I should go," she stated abruptly, hesitating as she turned to walk away, "Bones, I know it is a lot to ask but please, don't-"

"I won't say anything," McCoy managed to mumble quietly, gritting his jaw as he fought to maintain his composure.

He stared after Uhura as she disappeared wordlessly around the corner, the heartbeat pounding in his ears near deafening as he contemplated what was more of a suckerpunch:

_Learning what Adea was so afraid of or realizing how much it meant she cared about him._


	11. Pretty Little Thing

Adea exhaled loudly as she stuck her PADD stylus behind her ear, opting to manually type the remaining sentences of her report on the Archive screen. She'd spent rest of the afternoon trying to put her fight with Nyota out of her head, seeking refuge in the ship's Archive as she buried herself in the mission report for Ujaar. For years she'd held her tongue, biting back the truth in fight after fight with her sister. It had been so easy to convince herself Nyota deserved whatever hurt came the moment she managed to piece together the truth. But instead of relief, Adea just felt ill, her stomach twisting with guilt each time her mind wandered to the encounter. She looked up suddenly as she heard movement behind her, a relieved smirk tugging at the edge of her mouth as she recognized McCoy's reflection in the glass of the Archive screen.

"I know you said to wait, but I just wanted to quickly finish the report right now," Adea replied quickly, flashing a guilty smirk in McCoy's direction as she typed the end of her sentence.

"You should be resting," McCoy cautioned quietly, the agitated line between his brows growing more pronounced as she continued typing.

"I'm not going to faint," Adea promised, closing the open documents on her screen as she turned towards McCoy, "See?"

"I'm serious, Adi," McCoy sighed tiredly, crossing his arms as she brushed against his shoulder on her way to the desk.

"I know," Adea huffed quietly, her smirk fading as she relented, "I just needed a moment alone. I tried sitting in my room, but I can't make it an hour without someone checking in on me. Anywhere else I'm likely to run into Nyota. I swear the only quiet I had today was the half an hour you let me sit alone in your room."

Adea rearranged the contents of her bag as she placed her PADD inside, frowning slowly as McCoy remained silent.

"You're awfully quiet," Adea commented, setting her phone in her bag as she zipped it closed.

"Long day," McCoy replied simply.

"You can say that again," Adea replied slowly, resting her hands on the desk as she closed her eyes, hesitating for a moment before turning towards McCoy.

"I, uh, wanted to say thank you," Adea started softly, running a nervous hand through her hair.

"For what?" McCoy sighed slowly.

"For earlier," Adea continued slowly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, "Making sure I was ok. Letting me use your room and your shower, though lord knows how long you're going to spend disinfecting it."

"It's my job," McCoy shrugged.

"And standing up for me?" Adea asked softly.

"What else should I have done?" McCoy shrugged, a faint smirk briefly replacing his frown as she stepped towards him.

"You didn't have to and you know it," Adea replied slowly, the frustrated line between his brows faded as she stared up at him.

"Thank you, Lee," Adea smiled softly, pushing up onto her toes as she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

She hesitated for a moment, her face inches from his before she leaned in, her lips brushing against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he gave into the kiss slowly, the room around them beginning to slip away when McCoy pulled away suddenly, a pained expression burning in his green eyes.

"Lee, what wrong?" Adea questioned softly, her heart pounding in her chest as he shook his head slowly.

"Adi, I can't," McCoy started, clenching his jaw as he stepped away from her.

"What are you talking about?" Adea pressed, swallowing dryly as McCoy exhaled loudly, closing his eyes.

"I can't do this," McCoy repeated quietly, shaking his head.

"Lee, what is it?" Adea repeated, the cold panic in her chest growing sharper as he took another step back.

"This, Adi!" McCoy replied loudly, breathing heavily.

Adea stepped backwards sheepishly, her face flushing red as she bumped awkwardly into the desk behind her. She crossed her arms quickly, shutting her eyes as she exhaled through her teeth.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled quickly, her gaze flickering towards the ground as her pulse pounded wildly in her ears, "I shouldn't have kissed you. It was stupid."

"I'm not just talking about that," McCoy sighed, the line between his brows growing more pronounced as he stared back at her, "All of it, Adi."

"Lee, I don't understand," Adea replied softly, her lip beginning to tremble as he pinched the bridge his nose.

"Going back and forth like this!" McCoy huffed, his eyebrows raising as he stepped towards her, "One day, you're falling for me, then the next, you don't want anything to do with me? You know, you could have at least had the decency to tell me why you change your mind every few weeks! "

"I'm sorry," Adea mumbled quietly, exhaling shakily as he stepped away from her outstretched hand, "I tried to tell you—"

"You call a vague allusion to family problems telling me?" McCoy mused incredulously.

"That is the reason, Lee," Adea replied miserably, guilt twisting in her stomach as his pained expression grew darker.

"Is it?" McCoy replied quickly, his voice raising as he stepped towards Adea, "Two years ago you showed up at my doorstep and you wanted to say something to me. What did you want say?"

"What?" Adea mumbled quickly, the hot flush fading from her face as a cold weight began building in her chest. She swallowed as her throat ran dry, panic racing through her thoughts as she stared back as his measured gaze.

"When you came to my apartment before you left for the Adair fellowship," McCoy continued steadily, his voice low, "What did you want to say to me?"

"Why does that matter all of a sudden?" Adea countered weakly, stepping backwards as he moved closer to her.

"It's the same thing isn't it?" McCoy pressed on, emotion straining his steady tone, "What you were talking about a few weeks ago. Why you can't fall for me without hurting me? Why you're afraid to lose me? That day, before you left, that's what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it?"

"Why are you asking me this now?" Adea muttered miserably, her gaze flickering towards the floor as her panicked thoughts flickered back to her conversation with Nyota.

"It was, wasn't it?" McCoy repeated, his voice urgent as he stepped towards her again.

"Lee—"

"Adea, please," McCoy pleaded softly, his dark eyes boring into hers.

Adea stared back at him, her bottom lip trembling in horrified shock as she met the undeniable certainty burning behind his unwavering expression. _He knew. _

"Lee, it's complicated," Adea replied shakily, failing to control the panic constricting its way around her chest as a hot tear burned its way down her cheek.

"Complicated? McCoy repeated incredulously, his calm demeanor falling to the wayside as her stared back at her, "So kissing me is fine but talking to me is complicated?"

"I-I'm sorry," Adea mumbled quickly, another tear falling down her face as he stepped towards her, "I didn't mean it like—"

"Like what, Adi?" McCoy snapped back, "Like you're the only one who knows what complicated feels like?"

"Lee, it's different-"

"Is it?" McCoy retorted loudly, crossing his arms,

"Lee, I'm sorry. Please, just—"

"You know what, while we're on the subject, do you know what else is complicated?" McCoy snapped, stepping towards Adea as his voice shook, "Falling for someone and being told to act like it never happened. No explanation given. No chance to even try figure something out, because lord knows she's doesn't even need your opinion before she decides for you what's best. But you know what, Adea, that's not the complicated part. Complicated is standing on the fucking bridge the moment everyone thought you died, and not being able to say or do a goddamn thing, because to you and to everyone else, there is nothing between us! So don't give me some horseshit about things being complicated, when you don't even trust me enough to talk to me!"

Adea closed her eyes as her tears fell freely, the sickening pang in her chest threatening to tear her apart as his words seared through her mind. She reached forward to brush his arm, her breath catching in her throat as he shrugged away from her hastily as if he'd been burned.

"Lee, I'm sorry," Adea pleaded, her breath coming in short, rapid heaves as he backed away from her, shaking his head slowly, "I'm so sorry. Let me explain. Please."

"What the hell is there to say?" McCoy snapped coldly, brushing past Adea, "Whatever game is going on in your head, Adea, leave me the hell out of it. I can't do this anymore."

And with that he turned on his heel, leaving her alone in the room without another word.

* * *

**Two Years Earlier (Stardate 2256)**

* * *

Adea's fingers fumbled over her insignia pin as she struggled to fasten it to her jacket, giving up momentarily as she glanced down at the black screen of her phone.

"Don't worry about me, Sweetheart."

She swiped the screen on, opening the message as she read it for the hundredth time. She frowned, avidly eyeing the sent time as if staring alone would make a new message appear.

_Eight Days. _

_Eight days since they'd received the distress signal from Vulcan, a planet which as of a week ago, had ceased to exist. _

_Eight days in which the very same Romulan ship that had destroyed Vulcan had attempted to destroy Earth, nearly taking the Enterprise, her sister, and McCoy along with it. _

_Eight days since he'd texted her not to worry._

Between questioning Carol and her mother's constant calls, she'd managed to remain more up-to-date on the Enterprise's whereabouts than a Starfleet captain. But the peace of mind the constant updates had provided paled in comparison to the moment she'd heard the Enterprise had safely arrived at the Spacedock. She'd barely read the message from her mother before she leapt out of bed, stumbling across her as she raced to the shower. It would likely be hours before the crew would arrive at Headquarters, but anything was better than hell of waiting and wondering this past week. _Even if she risked seeing McCoy and her sister in the same place…._

Adea returned her attention back to her Starfleet pin, swearing loudly as a knock sounded at her door, the needle pricking her thumb as her grip slipped. She sucked the tip of her finger as she set the pin down, glancing quickly at her watch. W_as Carol back from London already?_ Adea frowned as she paced across the apartment, reformulating her plan as she sidestepped Carol's shoes, opening the door slowly. She barely recognized his lopsided grin before his hands cupped the side of her face, kissing her deeply as he walked her backwards into the apartment.

"Lee, you're here," Adea mumbled between kisses as McCoy closed the door, "Why are you here?"

"I missed you," McCoy replied simply, brushing her hair behind her ear as he kissed her again.

"I know," Adea started, breaking the kiss as she stared up at McCoy, "But I thought you had to report to Headquarters?"

"You're quoting protocol right now?" McCoy mused, smirking at her wide-eyed excitement.

"What? No!" Adea countered quickly, her cheeks flushing red, "I mean, yes. I mean, I thought you were supposed to report to headquarters first—"

"I spent the last few days being fired at Romulans, getting sucked into a black hole, and otherwise avoiding a miserable space death," McCoy smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer, "Did you honestly think headquarters was the first place I wanted to be when we touched down on Earth?"

"But—"

"I think headquarters can wait a damn minute, don't you?" McCoy mused, he smiled down at her.

Adea breathed heavily as she stared up at her, her worried resistance crumbling as he smiled wider. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face against his chest as he pulled her closer.

"I was terrified something happened to you," Adea sighed, the rush of relief alleviating the panicked pressure in her chest as McCoy rested his chin against her head.

"You?" McCoy teased quietly, kissing the top of her head, "The great Adea Ele terrified of something?"

"I'm serious, Lee," Adea mumbled against his chest.

"I'm not sure what choice you really left me with," McCoy drawled teasingly, hugging her closer to him, "I couldn't've left you here on Earth by your lonesome. Did you see the reaction I got when you opened the door? Coulda sworn you got a bit teary eyed. You'd all but fall apart if I didn't come back."

"You're full of it, Lee," Adea smirked, raising an eyebrow at McCoy as she looked up at him.

"That very well may be," McCoy admitted, "But if I did know any better, I'd say you still missed me an awful lot."

Adea simply hummed in response, pushing up onto her toes as she kissed him again.

"Well, if it makes you feel better," McCoy drawled, "I missed you too."

"Did you now?" Adea teased, her teeth grazing his bottom lip as he kissed her again.

"A bit," McCoy winked, a devilish look flickering in his eyes as he backed her slowly against the wall.

"My roommate might comeback," Adea warned playfully as McCoy's hand found the hem of her dress.

"Do you honestly think I give a damn about that right now?" McCoy mused coyly, trailing his thumb over her cheek.

He leaned forward suddenly, his arm hooking behind her knees as he scooped her off the ground, his grin broadening as she squealed.

"What the hell are you doing, Lee?" Adea squeaked, her arms wrapping nervously around his neck as he began walking towards her room.

"Told you I didn't give damn," McCoy smirked, pausing as he tilted his head down to kiss her again.

_And for a moment, neither did she. _

* * *

**Present**

* * *

Adea glared tiredly at her door as someone knocked, slowly twirling her cadet pin between her fingers for the hundredth time. She hesitated, nearly feigning absence as she pulled herself off her sofa, crossing her room slowly to the door. She glanced through the peephole, frowning as she was met with darkness. She paused for a moment before opening the door slowly, sucking in sharply as she struggled the register the glass object that had been thrust into her face.

"What in the—"

"Red wine, Mini," Kirk explained simply, waltzing past her into her room.

"Now is not the time, Kirk," Adea huffed, her frown twitching with frustration as he searched through her cabinets.

"We both know that's a lie," Kirk countered calmly, setting two glasses on her counter as he fished a corkscrew out of his pocket, "Especially after the day you've had."

"I just want to sleep," Adea sighed miserably, frowning as the cork popped.

"That may be true, but I have a dilemma," Kirk sighed, pouring two glasses, "You see, in nearly a hundred years of existence, you would think the Federation would come up with a better gift idea for captains than red wine, but no, they don't. Can you imagine how many bottles I've been trying to get rid of since I started Starfleet? I'm practically drowning in the stuff."

"Kirk," Adea sighed tiredly, frowning as Kirk pushed a wine glass into her hands, "I want to sleep."

"But that's where you come in, Mini," Kirk continued, clinking her glass with his own.

"Kirk," Adea warned, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand.

"Rumor has it you love red wine. Practically collect the stuff," Kirk pressed on, "And a little birdie tells me that you are particularly fond of drinking it when you're stressed."

"Do you even like it?" Adea questioned, raising an eyebrow slowly as he grimaced.

"What?" Kirk replied quickly, his face scrunching as he attempted another sip, "Why would you think that?"

"Let me guess," Adea replied slowly, eyeing Kirk's expression, "You hate red wine but you're trying to cheer me up?"

"Fucking disgusting," Kirk scowled, flashing a relieved grin as he moved the glass from his mouth, "But is it working?"

Adea rolled her eyes, moving to stand next to Kirk as she took a sip from her own glass.

"This is really good, Kirk," Adea commented, swirling the glass once before taking another sip.

"Mm," Kirk grunted in response, handing her his glass.

Adea smirked, pouring Kirk's glass into hers as she sat the empty glass on the table, padding across the room to the kitchen,

"I take it this is more to your liking?" Adea smirked, holding up a whiskey bottle as Kirk smiled broadly.

"This is why I pay you the big bucks," Kirk winked, sitting heavily on her couch as he propped his feet up on her coffee table.

"You don't pay me shit," Adea commented dryly, pushing Kirk's feet of the table as she handed him a glass.

"Who knew you'd be a whisky girl," Kirk mused, raising his eyebrows as he took a sip, "And a good whisky too."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Adea sighed, smirking as she clinked her glass against Kirk's.

They sat there for a moment in silence, as Adea sipped her wine slowly, curling her feet under her as she leaned back against the couch.

"I suppose I should thank Carol?" Adea mused.

"For what?" Kirk replied.

"The wine?" Adea mused, raising her glass towards Kirk as he frowned at it.

"Not this time," Kirk answered, sipping his glass as an innocent smirk twitched at the edge of his face.

"No?" Adea mused, raising an eyebrow at Kirk's expression.

"Bones told me," Kirk stated simply.

"Oh," Adea mumbled quickly, heat rising to her face as her stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"You're surprised?" Kirk mused.

Adea shrugged, avoiding Kirk's eyes as she took another sip from her glass.

"He really likes you, you know," Kirk continued after a pause.

"Yeah, I doubt that," Adea muttered quietly, the wine suddenly tasting bitter as she sat her glass on the table.

"Are you kidding me?" Kirk mused, "Please, I haven't seen him this on the edge since Dock Girl."

"What?" Adea sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned back, resting her head against the sofa.

"Dock Girl, " Kirk repeated.

"Do you think I want to hear your conspiracy theories right now?" Adea groaned, pressing the tips of her fingers into her temples.

"How have you been on the ship this long and never heard of Dock Girl?" Kirk mused, playfully nudging Adea's leg.

"Why do I feel it doesn't matter what I say, you're going to tell me anyway?" Adea sighed, moving her hands from her face as she eyed Kirk tiredly.

"Dock Girl is McCoy's ex," Kirk stated.

"Good for him," Adea mumbled dryly.

"Or so we think," Kirk added.

"So, it is a conspiracy theory?" Adea mused.

"Well he never mentioned her," Kirk continued, "At least not directly. Always busy. Always on his phone. Half paying attention when he talked to him. Hell, he went from ranting about how relationships never work out to going on and on about how it was just about meeting the right person. Seriously, Mini, on and on and on—"

"You're trying to tell me how much he likes me by telling me how much he's in love with someone else?" Adea frowned, "Kirk, I honestly—"

"You see, I was starting to think it was just a sketchy hobby he was trying to hide," Kirk sighed, "But you know the cut through between Hangar 2 and the Academy plaza?"

"What?" Adea questioned, her face scrunching as she stared back at Kirk.

"You know it?" Kirk mused.

"What are you talking about now?" Adea frowned.

"Do you know it?" Kirk continued, "The walkway that runs past the Kensington apartment building?"

"Of course," Adea sighed, "I lived there for three years, but what the hell does that have to do with—"

"Because after we landed for the Romulan mission, I took that shortcut to get to Headquarters," Kirk continued, "And on the way to Headquarters, I'll be damned if I didn't see Bones kissing Lieutenant Uhura in front of her apartment."

"What?" Adea breathed, swallowing quickly as she met the knowing twinkle flashing in Kirk's eyes.

"You see that's what I thought," Kirk continued, "If they ran off together yes, but there's no way she could have gotten back to her apartment before us."

Adea stared wide eyed at Kirk, a slow burn creeping up her neck towards her cheeks.

"Now imagine my surprise, when I finally ran into Lieutenant Uhura again and learned she had a little sister," Kirk mused, taking a sip of his beer as he smirked slowly, "If seeing your file photo didn't give it away, you should've seen Bone's face when I'd told him you'd been assigned to the Enterprise. Didn't even need months of watching you two go back and forth on this ship to put it together."

Kirk winked as he leaned forward, pushing Adea's glass into her hand as clinked his bottle against it.

"You knew all this time?" Adea stated slowly.

"You think I don't know what goes on my own damn ship, Mini? The things I know about this crew would blow your mind, " Kirk mused, nudging her arm, "Besides why do you think I keep leaving you two alone? You two are perfect for each other."

"Yeah, I doubt he wants anything to do with me right now," Adea muttered miserably, leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"Why do you say that?" Kirk frowned, nudging Adea again as she rubbed her hands over her face.

"Because all I can ever seem to do is hurt him," Adea replied quietly.

"What?" Kirk questioned, "What happened?"

"You know everything, right?" Adea commented dryly, taking a large sip of her glass, "So I take it you know my mother?"

"The Admiral?" Kirk replied, raising an eyebrow as he caught the expression in her eyes, "What about her?"

"Seven years ago, she had a straight-A cadet specializing in weapons engineering transferred to a low-ranking ship on a 5-year botanical research mission on the edge of Federation space," Adea stated quietly, "That ship was the USS Constellation."

"The ship destroyed by the Romulans after they left the Klingon prison world," Kirk commented slowly, "Wait, how do you all know this?"

"That cadet proposed to me two weeks before," Adea continued distantly, "We were close friends growing up and ended up dating for several years. He was scared of losing me when he left the Academy so he tried to propose to keep up together. I said no to him, but Nyota, being Nyota, ran and told our mother and that's how she retaliated."

Kirk eyed her silently as she continued quietly, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Did you tell McCoy this?" Kirk replied after a pause.

"See that's the best part," Adea continued, finishing the second half of her glass, "I thought not telling him would somehow keep him out of all of this so he wouldn't get hurt. But turns out he already figured it out and all I did was just hurt him more. So unless you have any brilliant ideas in the genius-level brain of yours, Kirk, McCoy doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

She stood up ploddingly, retrieving the wine bottle from her counter as she refilled her glass. She returned to the sofa, sitting the glass on the coffee table as she plopped down heavily on the cushion next to Kirk.

"You should talk to him," Kirk replied simply sitting up slowly.

"Talk to him?" Adea retorted dryly, "Did you not hear any of that?"

"I heard the part where you both are being too stubborn and closed off for your own good," Kirk commented, sipping from his whiskey as Adea glared at him.

"Stubborn?" Adea repeated, "Did you hear _anything _ I just-"

"Weren't you the one who just said not talking just caused more hurt?" Kirk countered.

"Did you just hear the part about my mother destroying the life of the last ex she didn't approve of?" Adea snapped incredulously.

"You know, as much as you hate to hear this, Mini, no one, not even mother, could have known what would have happened to that ship," Kirk replied slowly.

"Let me guess your next advice: my mother will miraculously be fine with McCoy?" Adea retorted, "And Nyota, too. You forgot about her. I'm sure she's perfectly fine with it?"

"I didn't say that," Kirk replied, "I said you should talk to him."

"And discuss what exactly?" Adea hurled back, "He already knows everything. And he took that beautifully well."

"He's being stubborn," Kirk commented.

"You didn't see him today, Kirk," Adea shot back, standing abruptly, "He was livid."

"Stubborn," Kirk corrected.

"Goddammit, Kirk," Adea huffed, "What exactly do you expect me to say? That I messed up? That I actually fell for him and that's what makes this so damn hard?"

"Probably a good start," Kirk shrugged.

"And what the hell good will that do?" Adea retorted miserably, "He doesn't even like me, right now, Kirk!"

"Of course, he doesn't like you, Mini!" Kirk snapped back, exhaling through his nose as rotated on the couch to face her.

"Kirk, what the—"

"He's in love with you," Kirk stated, looking up at Adea.

Adea stared back at him panting, her eyes flickering towards the floor as Kirk walked towards her slowly.

"You may not want to admit it to yourself and you have more than enough reasons to continue denying it," Kirk started slowly, "But my best friend is in love with you, and he has been since he first met you."

Adea stared forward blankly, her eyes trailing Kirk's movements as he sat the whiskey glass on her table. He reached forward slowly, his hands brushing her shoulders.

"I know it's a lot but if, everything else be damned, you still feel the same way too, please talk to him. If that's what you both want, you two deserve to be happy," Kirk continued, a faint smirk twitching at the edge of his mouth.

"I'll let you sleep now, Mini," he concluded softly, offering her a final smirk as he made his way out of her room, the door closing softly behind him.

* * *

Adea exhaled shakily in the dark corridor, uncrossing her arms slowly as she stared back at the door. It seemed like an eternity since she first came to a stop in front of the door, but even that was mere minutes compared to the amount of time she'd spend pacing back and forth down the hall, her breath catching in her throat each time a noise echoed. She inhaled slowly through her nose, barely raising her hand to knock when the door opened suddenly. She swore as she startled, breathing heavily as she met McCoy's bewildered stare.

"Adi," McCoy breathed, his startled gaze softening as he looked down at her, "What are you—"

"Sorry," Adea mumbled quickly, her face burning as she glanced towards the floor, "I was going to knock—"

"No, it's fine," McCoy huffed quickly, running a hand through his hair as he exhaled quickly, "I mean, how could you have known I would open the door—"

"Yeah, sorry," Adea muttered, crossing her arms across her chest as she turned quickly to leave, "I-I, uh, wanted to talk to you, but if you're leaving now, I understand. I can come back, or not come back, if you don't want me to come back—I'm sorry, I'll just go."

"I was coming to find you," McCoy stated abruptly, taking a step towards her as she turned back to face him.

"What?" Adea breathed, her eyes widening slowly, "Why would you want to talk to me after—"

"Adi, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," McCoy countered quickly.

"Lee, I'm so sorry," Adea started quietly, "I should have told you. I didn't know how to tell you."

"I don't think anyone could have found a good way and time to say that, " McCoy sighed quietly.

"Lee, I-" She trailed off slowly as he reached forward suddenly, holding out a small silver object to her, "What is this?"

"You dropped this," McCoy continued quickly, his brows knitting as she took the silver hair pin slowly, turning it over in her palm.

"What?" Adea mumbled quietly, dull recognition flickering as she eyed the silver star fleet crest at the tip of the bobby pin.

"You, uh, dropped it on the floor in my apartment," McCoy continued softly.

"What? When did I—?"

"You had it in your hair the day the Enterprise landed after the Romulan mission," McCoy stated quietly, "It must have fallen out when you came over later."

"H-how do you remember that?" Adea breathed, her lip trembling as he stepped towards her.

"It wasn't the first time I saw it," McCoy admitted quickly, running a hand through his hair, "You see, I left my friend Nick alone in a club because I needed some fresh air. It was nice being up on the rooftop, but then low and behold, someone had to come in ruin in it. Some pretty little thing in a tiny black dress, who threw off her heels the first chance she got. I think I nearly scared her senseless, but I had to talk to her. If I wasn't fumbling so hard for something to talk to her about, I probably wouldn't have even noticed the Starfleet pin in her hair. I'd never seen a woman quite like her, and goddammit if she didn't open her mouth and turn out to be brilliant too."

"Lee," Adea breathed quietly, looking up at him slowly as his hand trailed her arm, "Why are you saying this?"

"Your sister's wrath, whatever comments people have to say, dealing with whatever drama the crew wants to create, are infinitely better than standing on that rooftop wondering if I'm ever going to see you again," McCoy concluded, "And if your mother thinks she's going transfer one of Starfleet's top medical officers off its top ship, I'd damn well like to see her try. I want you, Adea."

"Lee, we...I-I don't want to lose you," Adea replied quickly, "What if something happens to you because of me?"

"If none of it mattered, the past, how we met, your mother, Nyota," McCoy continued softly, "What would you want, Adi?"

"It's not that simple," Adea replied, her voice barely higher than a whisper.

"Then why are you standing at my door?" McCoy replied quietly.

"It isn't...I just wanted... " Adea continued, "Lee, I-I can't live with myself if I was the reason something happened to you."

"You can't know that and neither can I," McCoy stated, his thumb trailing her cheek, "But I do know anything is better than ever having to stand around and wait, wondering if I lost you."

"You say that now," Adea countered quietly, her cheek resting against the palm of his hand.

"I don't give a damn about the rest," McCoy pressed, "Adea, what do you want?"

"Lee," Adea protested faintly.

"What do you want, Adi?" McCoy questioned, his eyes burning into hers as he stared down at her.

She stared back at him, her heart pounding in her chest as she leaned in suddenly, her lips crashing against his. She pushed onto her tiptoes, her arms trailing around his neck as he deepened the kiss. She barely registered following him into the room until she heard the door shut behind her, the residual worries tugging at her conscious faded away as her back pressed against the door.

He sucked her bottom lip softly, his hands snaking around her waist as lifted her, a low gasp escaping her lips as she wrapped her legs around her waist, her hips grinding against his as he pushed her harder against the door. His mouth released hers as he hands brushed underneath her sweatshirt to the bare skin of her waist, planting kisses along the sensitive skin below her ear. He smirked against her neck as her hands tangled into his hair, his grip tightening around her waist as he moved her away from the door, his lips refinding hers as he carried her towards his bed.

Her back had barely brushed the mattress before she'd found the hem of his shirt, breaking the kiss long enough to pull it over his head, tossing it to the edge of the bed. His hands trailed higher under her sweatshirt as his tongue continued to trail patterns along her neck, his thumb teasing back and forth across her skin as it brushed under the cup of her bra. She arched her back as his thumb flicked over her nipple, a low growl escaping his lips as her legs tightened around her waist.

McCoy gripped her breast as he kissed her lips again, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger as she moaned in response. His fingers slid expertly over the hook of her bra, freeing the clasp as her hand trailing down his chest, her fingers hooking under the waistband of his pants.

"Oh, I'm not done with you yet," McCoy smirked against her mouth, his tongue slipping between her lips as he pulled her sweatshirt over her head.

He reached down slowly, his thumb catching the elastic band of her shorts as he pulled them off. His mouth left hers as he gripped her upper thigh, his thumb brushing against skin as trailed kisses down her neck. Adea whimpered quietly as his mouth found her breast, a shiver trailing down her spine as his teeth grazed against her nipple. His hand snaked slowly up her thigh as his mouth trailed lower, his lip and tongue burning across her skin as he began planting down her chest. His lips had barely reached her hip bone when she shuddered, her hand clasping over his as he gripped her thigh.

Adea groaned in response, a quick gasp escaping her lips as his fingers found the waistband of her underwear. He pulled her panties off slowly, his tongue trailing along her wet slit as his finger teased her entrance. He brushed his finger back and forth against her before pushing it into her slowly, pulling it out as his tongue flicked between the lips of her pussy. Adea threw her head back as he slid a second finger into her, biting her lip as his tongue slowly began to drag patterns over her clit.

Her hands tangled into his hair as the pulsing between her legs grew stronger as her mind ceased to focus on anything but the movement of his tongue against her. She arched her back as his fingers pulsed faster in and out of her, the sensation nearly overwhelming her as he slid out of her slowly, trailing quick kisses up her body as his mouth refound hers, his hands swiftly unfastening the button of his pants.

She barely registered his hands tangling into her hair as he pushed into her slowly, her bottom lip trembling as he groaned against her mouth. She arched her back, pushing him deeper as he thrust into her, her nails trailing down his back. Her groans faded to whimpers as the pulsating sensation between her legs grow stronger, his breathing becoming ragged as he moved faster. Her breath caught in her throat as the sensation finally peaked, the tingling numbness spreading through her body intensifying as she felt him shudder, pulsating inside her.

McCoy leaned forward as he kissed her again, shivering as her fingers trailed softly down his back again. He pulled away slowly, untangling the blankets on his bed as Adea curled against his chest. He pulled the covers over them as he switched of the light beside his bed, his arms wrapping around her shoulders as she rested her cheek against his collarbone.

"Goodnight, Adi," he murmured quietly, kissing the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Lee," Adea replied, soft waves of sleep rolling over her as she relaxed against his chest.

_And for a moment, he didn't give a damn. And neither did she._


	12. Riddles

Adea blinked open slowly to the smell of coffee, rotating in her bed to face the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes as the room came into focus, a sleepy smirk winding its way onto her face as she spied the figure moving about her kitchen. She sat up slowly, stretching her arms over her head as she blinked tiredly.

"You're up," McCoy smirked, turning towards her as he switched the stove off.

"Mmm," Adea groaned, glancing at the dim screen of her PADD across the room, "What time is it?"

"Half-past six," McCoy replied, "Physicals are starting in the lab at 7:30."

"You're making coffee," Adea commented, picking up the large blue uniform shirt from the floor as she slipped it over her head.

"Making coffee? I'm performing miracles," McCoy corrected, raising an annoyed eyebrow at the silver kettle as Adea padded into the kitchen behind him, "I mean, how old is this thing?"

"It's not old. It's an espresso maker," Adea sighed, rolling her eyes at McCoy as filled one of the cups on the counter.

"Last used circa 2000 AD?" McCoy commented.

"I got it in Italy," Adea replied dryly, adding milk to her glass.

"In a museum?" McCoy smirked.

"No," Adea sighed, rolling her eyes as she leaned against the counter, "I practically lived there for three years."

"You lived in Italy?" McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced down at her.

"Switzerland," Adea clarified, taking a sip from her glass, "On the Italian border. My family used to move every two to three years for work assignments."

"You speak Italian?" McCoy mused, taking a sip from his own mug.

"So un po' di italiano," Adea shrugged, winking at McCoy.

"Well aren't you something," McCoy smirked, setting his coffee on the counter as his hands found her waist.

"Ti piace quando io parlo italiano?" Adea asked innocently, lifting up onto her toes as she planted a kiss along his jawline.

"I'm going to go before your Italian makes me late," McCoy replied, eyeing her dubiously as she blinked up at him.

"Cosí presto?" Adea frowned.

"Unless you don't mind me waltzing out of here at eight when the rest of the crew wakes up," McCoy drawled, kissing her softly as her smirk faded.

"Don't be late to your Physicals, Lee," Adea admonished, stepping away from him as she made her way back to her bed, "Besides, I need to get to the Archive early today."

"I thought you just had a briefing later for the Nibiru mission?" McCoy questioned.

"I do," Adea replied, ignoring the smirk on McCoy's face as she traded his shirt for her sweatshirt, "But I wanted to check something first."

"Where to buy a coffee maker built this century?" McCoy mused, slipping the blue shirt over his head.

"Hilarious," Adea sighed, flashing him a deadpanned grimace, "I just wanted to look again through the documents we got back about the Ujaar mission. Something still isn't sitting right about what happened."

"Well that's typically the case when a squad of Klingons tries to take you out," McCoy sighed, eyeing Adea as she sat down at her desk, swiping the screen of her PADD on.

"That's still not it," Adea frowned, swiping through the report they received from the Andorian Science Division, "They yelled "Get that woman." They weren't there by accident and if there was something I was doing that made them follow us, then I have to figure it out before someone else gets hurt."

"It's still getting under skin that Spock said they were following you?" McCoy sighed, rubbing her shoulders.

"No," Adea huffed quickly, frowning as she caught sight of McCoy's bemused smirk, "Alright, fine. A bit."

"That pointy-eared bastard'll do that to you," McCoy smirked, kissing the top of her head.

"This is not about him," Adea exhaled steadily, biting the tip of her thumb, "Something here isn't right."

"You know, you're starting to sound like Kirk with his conspiracy theories," McCoy mused.

"Don't you have cadets to examine?" Adea huffed tiredly, rolling her eyes as McCoy leaned forward, kissing her cheek.

"Well if there is something, you're smart enough to find it," McCoy mused, tilting her face towards his as he kissed her softly.

"Go," Adea smirked, catching his hand as it trailed to her waist again, "Before the rest of the crew wakes up and I have to add "explain sleeping with the ship's doctor" to my agenda."

"And make everyone jealous?" McCoy drawled, his lips brushing against her neck.

"You're full of it," Adea sighed, playfully pushing him away.

"You like it," McCoy teased, brushing the back of her hair as he made his way to the door.

"Get out," Adea stated, shooting McCoy a final teasing glare as he shut the door behind him.

* * *

Adea exhaled slowly as she flicked to another screen of the report, her left hand absently stirring her soup as she sat alone at the cafeteria table. She had spent hours pouring over documents and reading through reports. _But still nothing._ Sozia's story checked out. No further Klingon activity had been reported in the quadrant. She'd scanned her clothing from the mission for trackers again but to no avail. Any other equipment she'd carried had been identical to Sulu's.

_Yet…_

She still couldn't make sense of the overlaps between her trek through Ujaar and the arrival of the Klingons. The coincidence was driving her crazy, but each time she'd try to put it past her, the urge to look it into had simply gotten worse. She was losing her mind.

_But at least McCoy was one less thing to worry about._

She knew it was just a matter of time before someone else caught on..._or spied either one of them sneaking out of the other's room…._Still, the more time that had passed, the more at ease she'd begun to feel. Maybe they'd even make it back to Earth before anyone noticed. At least then, she'd have a month or so without the crew to contemplate what she'd do when everyone else found out.. _especially Nyota…_

Adea knew she'd have to talk to Nyota eventually. She glanced up slowly from her PADD, eyeing the table where her sister usually sat. In spite waves of guilt the silence brought, she couldn't help but notice how nostalgic the passive peace made her for the relationship they'd had when they were younger. She would've hardly described them as friends, but they had at least been on civil talking terms. There was a fat chance in hell their relationship would ever return to that—and that was without Nyota learning about McCoy—but for even for that faint chance, Adea couldn't help but to hold out hope. But until that day came, she was more than content to distract herself with her wild goose chase through the files of the Ujaar mission.

_That, and waking up next McCoy._

_God she'd forgotten the things that man could do with his hands._

She could still feel them from last night. Trailing their way down her hips until he'd-

"Someone had a good morning," Carol smirked, nudging Adea's shoulder as she joined her at the lunch table, "Again."

"What the hell, Carol," Adea hissed, her cheeks flaring red as her spoon clattered out of her hand, "I don't tell you things in private you can bring them up at random intervals for your own amusement."

"Oh, you didn't have to tell me anything," Carol winked, "That face says it all."

"Shut up," Adea snapped.

"So how long exactly to you plan to keep sneaking in and out of each other's room before someone notices?" Carol mused in a low voice, nudging Adea's side as Adea swatted at her hand.

"A lot longer if you would keep your mouth shut," Adea hissed, nearly choking on her water as a voice spoke up behind her.

"Good morning, Mini?" Kirk mused, a devilish twinkle in his bright eyes as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Fucking hell," Adea wheezed, coughing as she glared at Carol, "You told him?"

"Carol didn't tell me," Kirk admitted, his grin breaking into a full blown smile, "But that comment did."

"Seriously?" Adea hissed.

"I mean, that comment, and the big "I just go laid" smirk plastered across Bones' face," Kirk smirked.

"You talk to Kirk about this?" Carol mused, raising an eyebrow at Adea as she groaned into her hands.

"He figured it out," Adea mumbled defeatedly into her hands.

"Oh, I knew that," Carol replied calmly, "I just didn't think you talked to him about it."

"What?!" Adea replied quickly, her head snapping up from her hands as she glared at Carol, "You knew Kirk knew?"

"Please," Carol sighed, "I knew this ages ago."

"Ages ago?" Adea hissed quietly, glaring between Carol and Kirk, "Honestly? Anything else you all would like to share that you've been hiding being my back?"

"What are we hiding behind people's back?" Scotty chirped up.

Adea grit her jaw as she met Kirk's amused expression, glaring hard at the table in front of her as she felt her face burn.

"Do you want to tell or will you?" Kirk smirked, nudging Adea's foot under the table.

Adea stared wide-eyed at Kirk as his cocky smirk gave way to a broad smile, the corner of her mouth twitching as she resisted the urge to slap it off his face.

"Nothing," Adea replied quickly, gritting her teeth as she forced a smile at Scotty.

"Oh, come now," Scotty smirked, settling into the chair besides Adea, "I can keep a secret."

"It's nothing, Scotty," Adea started quickly, "It's just-"

"It's her birthday," Kirk announced, "Day after tomorrow isn't it, Mini?"

"What?" Adea frowned, raising a confused eyebrow at Kirk, "Why on Earth do you know that?"

"I know everything," Kirk smirked innocently, turning back to Scotty, "She tried to hide it from us, so we decided to throw her a party."

"What?" Adea hissed.

"Oh, well happy almost birthday then, Lass!" Scotty beamed, patting Adea on the back as her cheeks flared red.

"Good, so it's settled," Kirk beamed, "We're throwing you a party."

"What?" Adea squeaked, glancing at Carol for help, "No."

"Well, I think it's a great idea," Carol spoke up, smirking as she glanced up at Kirk.

"Seriously?" Adea shot back.

"I like parties," Scotty stated excitedly before turning to Kirk, "But you're a party won't be too much after a mission? I mean, hopefully less blood and Klingons than last time, but still?"

"Exactly, Kirk," Adea sighed, glaring at him, "Why the hell are we having a party?"

"I thought we were keeping things out in the open?" Kirk smirked innocently, wincing slightly as Adea kicked his food under the table.

"Well I like the idea," Scotty continued, taking a large bite of his sandwich, "Given she'll survive the ordeal."

"Given I'll what?" Adea frowned, glancing wide-eyed between Kirk and Carol, "I thought having a party was a joke and now I might not survive it?"

"Not you, Lassie," Scotty clarified, shaking his head at her, "The ship. Space is one thing. Salt water is another. Besides, do you have any idea what it will take to hide her on the bottom of the ocean?"

"Wait, what?" Adea replied quickly, fixing Scotty with a curious stare.

"I mean, the poor Nacelles," Scotty continued, "And don't get me started with the finish..."

"What did you just say?" Adea repeated, realization dawning slowly as Scotty eyed her with a confused pout.

"The Nacelles?" Scotty questioned slowly.

"No," Adea replied quickly, shaking her head slowly as she stood up abruptly from the table, "The ship. You said the ship is a her."

"What?" Scotty questioned, the confused lines along his brow growing deeper, "Should I have said him?"

"You alright, Adi?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow as Adea briskly shoved her PADD into her bag.

"I have to go," Adea replied quickly, picking up her tray as she backed away from the table, "I have to check something."

Adea hurried quickly out of the cafeteria as Scotty stared after her, his eyes flickered between Kirk and Carol.

"Was it something I said?" Scotty muttered, his confused pout fading into a frown as they both shrugged, returning slowly to their meals.

* * *

Adea exhaled loudly as she arrived at the medical bay, catching her breath as Nurse Hayes approached her with a clipboard.

"The morning appointments are filled for today," she stated tersely, raising an annoyed eyebrow at Adea.

"I'm not here for an appointment," Adea replied calmly, "I'm looking for Doctor McCoy."

"He's busy," she replied simply, her dark brown eyes flickering up at Adea from her clipboard.

"It's lunch time," Adea stated, stepping past the nurse as she glanced around the Medical Bay.

"Appointments for Physicals ran over," she stated briskly, hovering behind Adea, "Can I help you?"

"No, it's fine," Adea frowned, crossing her arms as she scanned the space for McCoy.

"You're welcome to come back," Hayes offered sappily.

"I'll wait," Adea replied slowly, raising an annoyed eyebrow in her direction.

"Wouldn't that be a waste of your time?" she replied dryly.

"I think I can decide that for myself, Ensign Hayes," Adea stated firmly, her unamused frown fading briefly as McCoy entered the room, "Doctor McCoy, a word?"

"Yeah," McCoy replied slowly, eyeing the two of them, "Nurse Hayes, do you mind giving us the room?"

"Of course, Doctor," she replied sweetly, her bright smile fading a molar as she turned towards Adea.

Adea stared after her as she exited the room, returning her gaze slowly to McCoy.

"What's with your nurse?" Adea huffed.

"What about her?" McCoy replied quickly.

"Is she always this joyful to be around or is it just me?" Adea questioned dryly.

"Why do you say that?" McCoy asked, confusion knitting his brows.

"Never mind," Adea sighed, shaking her head quickly as she opened her PADD, "I think I may have found something."

"What is it?" McCoy sighed, eyeing the report displayed on Adea's screen.

"It the Academy's monthly linguistic journal," Adea explained, "I can't believe I didn't think of it until now."

"A linguistics journal?" McCoy mused.

"No," Adea continued, "Language."

"What?" McCoy questioned.

"The ship's a her," Adea declared.

"What are you talking about?" McCoy mused, raising an eyebrow towards her as she scrolled down the article.

"The ship. It's a her," Adea continued excitedly, "Scotty calls it a her."

"Sweetheart, what in the Sam Hill are you talking about?" McCoy frowned.

"Italian. German. Latin. Arabic," Adea listed rapidly, "All of those languages have masculine and feminine. What if the Klingons do the same? What if an object can be a "her" or "woman"?"

"That very well may be," McCoy stated, frowning as Adea continued excitedly, "But—"

"I found an article about it," Adea pressed on, "But it's about old Klingon. I'm not sure if the same applies now. I just learned the main dialect of Klingon at the academy for my program."

"Adi," McCoy sighed, brushing her shoulder.

"One second," Adea huffed, scrolling quickly through article, "I just had it."

"Sweetheart," McCoy pressed.

"Hold on," Adea hummed, "It was just here—"

"Adi, darlin', look at me," McCoy stated, rotating her gently to face him, "I'm a doctor, not a linguist."

"I know," Adea frowned slowly, glancing down quickly at her article, "I just—"

"You need to ask a linguist," McCoy stated calmly.

"Lee," Adea sighed slowly, frowning as she met the expression in his eyes.

"Talk to her," McCoy urged quietly.

Adea exhaled loudly through her nose, biting her lip as she glanced down at the floor.

"She doesn't want to talk to me," Adea sighed tiredly, looking away from McCoy as she opened another article on her PADD.

"She'll talk to you if she knows you want to see her," McCoy replied.

"Lee," Adea frowned, leaning against his palm as his thumb trailed her cheek, "She's—"

"Your sister is one of the best damn linguists in all of Starfleet," McCoy stated calmly, "And she may have had a funny way of showing it, but she cares about you, Adi."

"Lee—"

"Talk to her," he sighed a low voice, a smirk twitching at the edge of his mouth as his finger trailed over the silver Starfleet clip in her hair.

"Lee, don't start," Adea huffed as he leaned forward slowly, kissing her softly as he brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Fine," McCoy relented, "But at least consider it."

"It's considered," Adea sighed, turning away slowly as she looked down at her PADD, "I'll see you later?"

"I mean it, Adi," McCoy pressed.

"Considered," Adea repeated firmly, raising an eyebrow at his coy smirk as she turned and left the lab.

* * *

It had taken all but two hours of Klingon linguistic texts for Adea to regret studying Xenobiology over Xenolinguistics. Adea frowned again, pressing the tip of her stylus against her lip as she attempted to decipher the pointed runic symbols written across the page. She exhaled slowly through her nose as she heard a shuffle in the Archive behind her, her annoyed frown giving away to a wide-eye stare as she caught sight of her sister.

"Nyota," Adea exhaled quickly, tucking her stylus swiftly behind her ear as she glanced warily as her sister's nervous stance, "What are you doing here?"

"Bones," Nyota added quickly, "He said you were looking for me, but I figured he must have heard you wrong."

Nyota hesitated, glancing down at the floor as she exhaled steadily.

"I can go, if you want," she added quickly, stepping back slowly as she turned to leave.

"Wait," Adea called after Nyota, biting her lip as her sister turned towards her.

"I need your help," Adea added.

Adea sucked in slowly as she gestured to the Archive screen, Nyota coming to a hesitant stop besides her.

"Spock said the Klingons appeared to be trailing me," Adea started slowly, "If it's me or if its something else, I need to know or I risk putting the crew in danger the next time I step foot off this ship."

"What do you need?" Nyota asked quietly, the faint traces of a hopeful smirk twitching at the edge of her mouth.

"The Klingons shouted "Be'vetlh tu'," Adea continued, reopening the mission report on the screen, "I'm sure that's what they shouted but I'm not sure if it meant something else. Scotty referred the Enterprise as a her, what if they were referring to something else? I tried to find something on gender in the Klingon language, but it's confusing. Some articles about about old Klingon say yes, but other—"

"Adea, Klingon doesn't have genders," Nyota frowned, shaking her head slowly,"They distinguish between inanimate and animate. Only a handful older Klingon dialects had genders, but they're not spoken anymore."

Adea exhaled slowly, crossing her arms as she glowered at her screen.

_And back to square one..._

"It was worth a try," Adea sighed, crossing her arms as she glowered at her screen, "Thank you, Nyota."

"Of course," Nyota replied quietly.

Nyota paced towards the door slowly as Adea turned back to her screen, hesitating as she reached the door to the Archive.

"Adea, I'm so sorry," Nyota stated quietly, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she turned towards Adea.

Adea exhaled shakily, turning away from the monitor as she looked up at her sister.

"I know you may never believe me, but I never wanted to hurt you like that," Nyota concluded slowly, "And I'm sorry I did."

She offered Adea a sad smile, wiping hastily at her face as she turned quickly towards the door.

"Ny, wait!" Adea called out, taking a deep breath as she looked up at Nyota, "I shouldn't have told you the wave I did. You couldn't have known much more than me what would happened."

Nyota shook her head slowly as she walked towards her sister, a faint smirk twitching at the edge of her mouth.

"You're apologizing to me?" Nyota mused incredulously, crossing her arms as she eyed Adea.

"Would you rather I slap you?" Adea smirked, raising an eyebrow at her sister.

"If it would make you hate me less," Nyota replied, sadness tinging her joking tone as she looked up at Adea.

"I don't hate you, Nyota," Adea sighed after a pause, smirking in spite of herself.

"No?" Nyota commented dubiously.

"I might have to take a rain check on that slap though," Adea smirked, "You're typically good for about a month before you're a pain in my ass again."

"So we do agree on something?" Nyota mused, nudging Adea playfully.

"You ought to frame this moment," Adea laughed, shaking her head at Nyota as she nudged her back, leaning back again the frame of the archive screen.

"Who would've of thought we'd end up on the same crew?" Nyota mused, leaning on the Archive table across from Adea.

"I bet mother's thrilled," Adea snorted,"She only has one ship to stalk when she wants know our every thought and movement."

Nyota groaned loudly in response, shaking her head slowly as she pressed her fingers into her temples.

"Have you been home since then?" Nyota asked hesitantly, looking up slowly at Adea.

"Why?" Adea huffed dryly, crossing her arms, "I was barely home before all this, and now they live even further off world than before. I have no reason to. You?"

"Not since I graduated from the Academy," Nyota shrugged.

"Let me guess? Not ready to discuss your career path to becoming admiral?" Adea teased dryly, "Or have your picked up weird hobbies you don't want them to know about?"

"Weird hobbies?" Nyota mused, "Please you're the one skipping around the ship like Kirk's long lost twin."

"Kirk is a friend, not a weird hobby. Jeez, don't say it like it like that," Adea sighed, grimacing, "Besides, my hobbies are perfectly normal and Admiral approved."

"Drinking Sulu and Bones under the table?" Nyota offered.

"Hilarious," Adea huffed, "Starfleet approved research position. Classified level clearance. Fencing—"

"And judo, of course," Nyota added, rolling her eyes as she took on their mother's aristocratic tone, "'How else do you expect to survive a firefight with those scrawny arms?'"

"I still can't believe she said that to you," Adea sighed, shaking her head.

"She wasn't wrong though," Nyota replied, exhaling loudly, "At least now I could take on just about anyone on this ship."

"You got dad's height, though," Adea grumbled, "I'm just praying my opponent doesn't know that they're doing. I swear that's why mom made to join sport shooting too."

"She made you join?" Nyota asked, raising her eyebrows, "I always thought that had been your choice."

"When is it ever my choice?" Adea replied dryly, shaking her head slowly, "At least I'm handy with a rifle now. A perfectly reasonable skill for an organization whose standard issue weapon is a phaser."

"What did you just say?" Nyota interjected suddenly, thoughts ticking rapidly behind her wide eyes.

She turned quickly to the archive screen, logging in hastily as she began opening new windows.

"Nyota, what are you doing?" Adea frowned, raising a brow at Nyota as she flicked open the Academy's linguistics page.

"Give me a second," she huffed, typing rapidly into the search bar as she stepped between Adea and the screen.

"Ny, what are you-"

"Rifle!" Nyota shouted back quickly, moving quickly from in front of the screen.

"Rifle?" Adea repeated back, "What the-"

"Rifle," Nyota repeated, turning hastily to face Adea, "Kirk was annoying me when we outfitted your gear for Ujaar by asking what everything was called in Klingon. You didn't have a phaser on Ujaar, Dea, you had a rifle."

"What?" Adea breathed, glancing away from her sister's crazed expression as she eyed the computer screen, her breath catching in her throat.

"BeH vItu'," Nyota stated slowly, glancing at the translation on the screen, "Rifle is BeH. Woman is Be'. It would've been an impossible difference to make if they were shouting it at your across a market."

Adea stared back at the screen, her wide eyed gaze turning from the screen to her sister. She stepped forward slowly, her finger trailing down the screen as her sister pressed the audio pronunciation. Adea's blood ran cold as the automated voice barked out the words in Klingon,. She stared up slowly at Nyota, a cold horror creeping up her spine as the familiar phrase echoed across the room.

"They weren't looking for you, Adea," Nyota breathed quietly, glancing slowly at at her sister.

"They were looking for my gun," Adea concluded quietly, swallowing slowly as she stared back at jagged runes etched across the screen.

* * *

**Author's note: ****cue Main Theme, Track 14 :)**

**To my readers around the world in these difficult times right now, I say to you all:  
Live long and prosper. Stay safe. **

**\- Case**


	13. Targets

**USS Enterprise, ****Class M Planet, Nibiru**

* * *

"Acting Captain Ele on ze bridge!" Chekov announced.

"Mr. Chekov," Adea smiled, settling into the chair, "Commander Spock, do you copy?"

"Awaiting confirmation from the Captain that the locals are indeed out of the kill zone so we can initiate the neutralization sequence," Spock's voice crackled back over the Bridge's speakers.

"Mr. Scott," Adea started, "Do we have a visual on the Captain?"

"He's on the outskirts of the settlement now," Scotty reported back.

"Dr. McCoy, your status?" Adea asked, biting back a subtle smirk as she heard McCoy's voice over the speakers.

"Waiting for Jim with our...ride," McCoy grumbled, "Lieutenant, are you sure about this? I mean it's calm right now, but have you ever seen the fangs on these things up close? One chomp'll take my head clean off."

"Nibirillas are quite docile and vegetarians, Doctor," Adea countered calmly, "Nibiru's population has been domesticated by the locals for transport. Its like riding a large horse."

"Riding a large horse?" McCoy huffed, "Have you even seen one of these things in person?"

"Would it make you feel better if I lied and said I did?" Adea mused.

"Like a horse, my ass," McCoy muttered under his breath, "Waiting for the Jim to arrive before making our way to the beach, Acting Captain Ele. What's his status?"

"Captain is on the move," Scotty confirmed quickly, his brows scrunching as he stared at the monitor, "Wait, that can't be right."

"What is it?" Adea questioned.

"Is he running?" Scotty mused, glancing blankly at Adea.

"Kirk, what are you doing?" Adea repeated, paging Kirk's communicator.

"PLAN A WASN'T WORKING SO I IMPROVISED A PLAN B," Kirk's voice boomed out over the bridge.

"What?" Adea frowned, "You were supposed to create a distraction at the temple."

"I TOOK SOMETHING," Kirk yelled back.

"Took something?" Adea mused, staring at the screen as Kirk's beacon raced across the screen towards McCoy, "Kirk, what the hell did you take?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA BUT THEY WERE BOWING TO IT!"

"Bowing?" Adea huffed, "For the love of God, Kirk, please don't tell me you took-"

"ITS SOME TYPE OF SCROLL!"

"Kirk, that scroll is the most sacred thing on that island," Adea frowned, pinching the bridge of her nose, "The Nibirans won't just follow you, Kirk, they will kill you to get it back! "

"I NOTICED," Kirk shouted, letting out a string of swear words as his communicator cut out.

"Kirk?" Adea frowned, watching as Kirk and McCoy's met briefly, pausing for a moment as they began moving to the north, "Kirk, what are you doing? The beach is to the south."

"Kirk to shuttle one, the locals are out of the kill zone, repeat!" Kirk huffed, "Spock, get in there, neutralize the volcano, and let's get out of here!"

"Mr. Sulu do you copy that?" Adea asked, exhaling as she turned her attention to the shuttle's location.

"Copy that, preparing for descent," Sulu responded calmly.

"Captain, did the indigenous life forms see you?" Spock's voice chimed up, "The prime directive clearly states-"

"I know what it says, which is why I'm running through the jungle wearing a disguise! Now drop off your ice cube and lets go. Kirk out."

"Kirk!" Adea called out, frowning his communicator went silent, "Where on earth are they-"

Adea trailed off as she eyed the trajectory of the beacons, realization dawning slowly as she watched the beacons continue forward, floating off the edge of the island.

"McCoy's gonna kill him," Adea sighed, standing slowly.

"Water thrusters have been activated," Scotty spoke up, nodding towards Adea as he made his way across the bridge, "Lieutenant?"

"Right behind you," Adea replied, turning towards the command console, "Mr. Chekov you have the con."

"Honestly, lass," Scotty started, hunkering down the hallway, "You cannae imagine what the salt water is doing to her. Airtight and corrosion are two very different things. You'd think the captain would care more, but here we are."

Adea raced after Scotty as he rambled on, grumbling about various functions of the ship as they descended through a maze of hallways and staircases to the Engineering Bay. They traversed a final hallway, coming to a stop at the valve door as the caution tone blared. Kirk and McCoy stood of slowly as the remaining water flowed away, heaving as they removed their regulators.

"You two made it to the beach in record time," Adea mused, smirking slowly as she caught sight of McCoy's livid glare.

"I'm gonna kill 'em," McCoy grumbled under breath, his glower easing slightly as he looked towards Adea.

"You can do that later, Doctor," Scotty huffed, frowning at two men, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to hide a Starship on the bottom of the ocean? We've been doing it since last night!"

"Where's Spock?" Kirk spoke up suddenly, staring urgently between Scotty and Adea.

"He's still in the volcano," Adea responded quickly.

"Let's go," Kirk ordered, "We need him out of there now. That thing's about to blow."

They raced down the hall to elevator, punching the key to the Bridge as the doors slid close behind them. Adea exhaled slowly as she glanced towards McCoy, a small smirk playing at the corners of her mouth as him thumb brushed the back of her hand, his fingers briefly intertwining with hers as he stared forward. She looked down as the elevator continued its ascent, glancing at her watch for the mission time.

"Where are Uhura and Sulu?" Kirk started, glancing over his shoulder at Adea.

"Waiting for your confirmation that the locals were out of the kill zone," Adea replied, "They began moving in once you reported."

"Began moving?" Kirk huffed, stepping out onto the Bridge as the doors swiped open, "They should be moving out of there by now."

Kirk paced to the center of the room, crossing his arms as he came to a stop in front of the captain's chair.

"Mr. Chekov, what's going on?" Kirk asked, glancing across the various screens.

"Ze beacons for Lieutenant Uhura and Commander Sulu appear to be returning to ze Enterprise," Chekov frowned, "But unless zer is an error, which is highly unlikely, Commander Spock is still in the volcano, sir."

"Still in the volcano?" Kirk repeated urgently, looking up suddenly as Sulu and Uhura raced onto the bridge.

"Captain, the ship's cable broke and the transporter's technology could not withstand the heat," Sulu stated quickly.

"He's still down there," Uhura concluded quietly.

"Lieutenant, do we have an open channel to Mr. Spock?"

"The heat's frying his comm's but we still have contact," Uhura replied softly, her voice breaking as she stared back at Kirk.

Adea glanced up at the wavering in her sister's tone, her brows knitting as caught sight of the terrified gaze in Nyota's eyes. Adea stared back at her sister as the Enterprise made contact Spock, her eyes flickering between her sister and the Bridge as she watched Nyota's expression grow more frantic.

"Shut up, Spock, we're trying to save you dammit!" McCoy shouted, stepping forward towards the screen Kirk as and Spock continued arguing.

"Spock, we're talking about your life!" Kirk yelled,

"The rule cannot be broken…" Spock's voice warbled precariously through the connection, falling silent as Uhura let out an audible gasp, her hand clapping over her mouth.

_Spock? _

Nyota looked away from the screen sharply, her panicked eyes locking with Adea's as a questioning look flickered across her younger sister's face. Nyota looked away quickly, her mouth pulling into a tight line as she turned away quickly to post, flicking frantically with the switches on her control board as she attempted to reestablish contact.

_Nyota had to be kidding._

Adea glanced away from her sister slowly, shaking her head quickly as she refocused on the mission, walking forward to stand beside Kirk and McCoy.

"If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do?" Kirk asked, staring forward at the screen as the clock until detonation ticked down.

"He'd let you die," McCoy replied quietly.

_Spock and his goddamn rules. _Adea stared back at the screen, her eyes flickering back towards her sister as her mind raced.

"Technically, the prime directive defines no-interference as introducing new technology and knowledge to a developing culture," Adea spoke up quietly.

"What are you saying, Mini?" Kirk replied.

"Nibiru doesn't have the scientific capacities to understand or build anything close to a starship into their society for the next 400.000 years," Adea replied quietly, glancing towards Kirk and McCoy as they stared in her direction. "If you want to be one for wording, they technically can't introduce new technology to their society."

Kirk exhaled steadily, glancing at the clock as timer reached one minute.

"Well Spock is one of technicalities," Kirk muttered quickly in response, moving to sit in the Captain's chair, "Mr. Sulu, get us in the air now. Lieutenant Uhura, send a ship wide alert to prepare for liftoff."

"Yes, Captain," Sulu replied quickly, flipping the switches on his panel as the ship began to whir.

"Hold on to something before you go flying off, Mini," Kirk ordered, the thrusters rumbling to life.

Adea's scowl was interrupted as the ship lurched suddenly, sending her toppling to hard into McCoy's chest. McCoy raised an eyebrow at Adea as her cheeks went scarlet, smirking softly as he steadied her arms.

"I'd say he told you so," McCoy started, suppressing a smirk as Adea huffed, grabbing hold of the railing as the ship began lifting out of the water.

"Mr. Chekov, eta?" Kirk called out.

"Twenty-four seconds until ve are in range, Sir," Chekov replied quickly.

"That's pushing it," McCoy huffed negatively.

"Well that's all we got," Kirk replied, standing slowly as the ship pulled closer to the smoke cloud, the sensors on the bridge whirring in response to the heat, "Mr. Sulu, bring us in closer."

"Sir, I don't think she'll withstand much more heat," Sulu warned.

"Mr. Chekov, do we have a signal?" Kirk asked.

"Trying to lock on now!" Chekov answered, leaning forward as he focused on his screen, "I have a signal!"

"Ten," McCoy started, "Nine."

"Is that necessary, Doctor?" Adea commented, raising an eyebrow at McCoy as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Six seconds," Uhura warned, "Chekov?"

"I have him!" Chekov announced excitedly, "Should be beaming now!"

"Let's go," Kirk stated, nodding at McCoy and Adea as he paced out of the room towards the elevator.

The doors swiped shut as the elevator descended quickly, Kirk's attention glued to his watch until the door finally opened. The three raced down the hallway, skidding to a stop in front of the transporter room, the golden beams fading away as Spock stood slowly, his EV-suit smoking.

"Spock!" Kirk shouted, flashing a relieved smirk as he and McCoy came to a stop besides him, "You alright?"

"Captain, you let them see our ship," Spock admonished, fixing Kirk with a disappointed stare.

Adea rolled her eyes, exhaling loudly through her nose as McCoy huffed loudly.

"He's fine," McCoy grumbled, waving his arm at Spock as her turned towards Adea, shaking his head slowly.

"Bridge to Transporter Room," Uhura's voice rang out, "Is Commander Spock on board?"

"He's onboard safely," Adea replied calmly.

"Please notify him that his device has successfully detonated," Uhura stated tersely, static buzzing before her connection went silent.

Adea exhaled steadily, exchanging a quick look with McCoy as she turned back to Kirk.

"You hear that Spock? Congratulations!" Kirk smiled, "You just saved the world."

"You violated the Prime Directive," Spock frowned.

"They saw us," Kirk shrugged, "Big deal."

"Captain, I-" Spock started as Kirk waved him off.

"Report to engineering to have that suit removed," Kirk ordered, turning to McCoy, "I'm sure you'll have him checked out after he's done?"

"Joy," McCoy frowned, shaking his head as Kirk paced towards the exit, pausing in front of Adea.

"Now how's that for a birthday, Mini?" Kirk winked, flashing her a wide smile as he continued past her, disappearing around the door into the corridor.

Adea stared after him, shaking her head slowly.

"And I thought jumping off a cliff was the most exciting part of my day," McCoy huffed, smirking down at Adea as she pressed her thumbs into her temples.

"I swear there's never a boring day on this ship, " Adea groaned, stepping into the elevator.

They stood in silence for a moment as the elevator descended, Adea's forehead resting against McCoy's chest.

"So, uh, your sister and Spock-" McCoy started slowly.

"Don't look at me," Adea replied quickly, frowning up at McCoy, "She just started talking to me last week. You're the one on the same ship as her."

"Yeah, but why the hell would I want to spend that time contemplating about Spock's love life," McCoy frowned.

"Don't, Lee," Adea shuddered.

"I mean, just the thought of it about it-" McCoy groaned.

"Still my sister," Adea huffed quickly.

"So what is with you two and senior science officers?" McCoy sighed.

"And I have a uniform to change out of," Adea announced as the elevator slowed, stepping swiftly into the hallway as McCoy caught her hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" McCoy drawled, glancing casually over her shoulder as he pulled her towards him, his hands catching her waist.

"Lee, what are you doing?" Adea whispered, heat rising to her cheeks as she caught the devilish look in his green eyes.

"You think I'm going just to let you walk away in that suit?" He smirked, his hands trailed slowly up to her zipper.

"You're up to no good," Adea sighed, catching his hand as he pulled at the zipper.

"Well, conveniently, my room is located right across the hall," McCoy drawled, teasing her zipper an inch lower, "With a shower I remember you being quite fond of."

"I have to meet Kirk on the Bridge soon," Adea stated simply.

"I didn't say it had to be a long shower," McCoy replied in a low voice, tucking a loose curl of her hair behind her ear, "Besides, isn't it your birthday? I think you get a free pass for being a few minutes late."

"Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one?" Adea tutted, relenting slowly as he walked her towards his room.

"Sweetheart, when has that ever been true?" McCoy winked, his hands promptly refinding the zipper as he pulled her into his room.

* * *

**Sulu's Quarters, ****19:27**

* * *

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," McCoy drawled, glancing up at Kirk as Sulu opened the door.

"You two started drinking without me?" Kirk mused, sitting a whisky bottle on the table as he sat on the the sofa across from McCoy, "I'm offended."

"Well that's what you get when you take damn near forever," McCoy countered, pouring Kirk a glass.

"Had to bake a cake," Kirk shrugged, taking a sip from his glass as he leaned back against the couch.

"You baked a cake?" Sulu questioned.

"Don't look so surprised," Kirk huffed, "It was that or giving Mini more wine for her birthday."

"Is it at least edible?" McCoy mused.

"You should go into comedy, Bones," Kirk retorted dryly, raising his glass.

"Birthday parties. Volcanoes. Spock nearly vaporizing himself," Sulu listed, clinking Kirk's glasses, "Anything else you have in store for us today, Captain?"

"And ruin a good surprise?" Kirk mused.

"Keep going with surprises today and this bottle won't be enough," McCoy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Please," Kirk sighed, "We didn't lose anyone. We saved a planet. Everything's the same as it always was."

"And Spock and Uhura?" Sulu mused quietly, raising his eyebrows at McCoy as he glanced towards Kirk.

"Let me get this straight," Kirk started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "You two are always on me about conspiracy theories and you two have been in here gossiping?"

"Concerned about the wellbeing of our shipmates," McCoy offered innocently.

"Concerned my ass. Since when do you care so much, Bones?" Kirk mused, "I thought you hated ship drama."

"Not when I'm in the middle of it," McCoy shrugged.

"Double standards much?" Kirk commented.

"So any chance you were gonna mention what's going on between Spock and Lieutenant?" McCoy drawled, raising an eyebrow at Kirk.

"Any change you were mention you've spent the past four years boning the Lieutenant's sister?" Kirk replied calmly, his grin widening as McCoy nearly spit out his whisky.

"What the hell, Jim?" McCoy sputtered, swearing under his breath as he coughed.

"You knew?" Sulu replied slowly, smirking slowly as he eyed the captain.

"Of course I knew," Kirk stated proudly, "I know everything that goes on this ship."

"Well even if you knew, you don't have to say it like that," McCoy grumbled, refilling his glass as he glared Kirk.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to use that line?" Kirk smirked, "It was a golden opportunity."

"How'd you figure it out?" Sulu questioned.

"Intuition," Kirk sighed, leaning back against the couch, "That, and running into Bones kissing her years ago."

"Years ago?" Bones repeated, staring back at Kirk, "When on earth did you see-"

"On her doorstep," Kirk clarified quickly, eyeing McCoy over the rim of his glass, "It was her apartment you ran to after the Romulan mission wasn't it?"

"Well I'll be damned," McCoy sighed, shaking his head slowly as he took a sip from his glass.

"You and your types," Kirk smirked, shaking his head slowly at McCoy.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" McCoy frowned.

"Please," Kirk tutted, "You joined the crew crushing on Lieutenant Uhura, and then you start dating her lookalike sister?"

"What? When was I ever crushing on Lieutenant Uhura?" McCoy huffed.

"Are you kidding me?" Kirk mused, "The entire first year on the Enterprise under Pike. It was so obvious."

"It was obvious," Sulu agreed.

"Seriously, Bones," Kirk pressed on, "Have you seen the two of them together? I mean, how did you not know that was her sister?"

"Enough from you two," McCoy grumbled, glaring up at Kirk, "You say it like the only reason I like my girlfriend because she looks like her sister."

"So she's your girlfriend now?" Kirk mused.

"Why is my life suddenly so interesting to you two all of a sudden?" McCoy huffed, leaning back against the corner of the couch.

"So it is official then?" Sulu mused, smirking at McCoy, "You called her your girlfriend,"

"Yes," McCoy grumbled, shaking his frowned at Sulu, "I mean, kind of."

"Kind of?" Sulu repeated, "What do you mean kind of?"

"You two haven't talked yet?" Kirk questioned.

"Kind of," MCCoy huffed, "I'll mention it. I don't see what the big deal is. I don't need to rush to put a label on it when Adea doesn't care and you two just need something to gossip about."

"Do you think she doesn't care or did you ask?" Sulu clarified.

"I have two months to talk to her," McCoy replied, "I already talk to her about everything else. I think labels can wait."

"Two months goes by fast," Sulu commented.

"Well I'm sure as hell not bringing it up in the middle of a birthday party," McCoy argued.

"So you two are just going to go your separate ways for a few months until the next assignment without knowing what you are?" Kirk mused.

"Thanks Doctor Phil. I'll bring it up," McCoy huffed, "But enough of this. I already told her we'll see each other when we're back and she's gonna get reassigned to the Enterprise. Don't need to make a fuss outta it, Jim."

"But you do like calling her your girlfriend," Kirk added.

"Drink your damn whisky, Jim," McCoy snapped quickly, shaking his head slowly as downed the rest of his drink.

* * *

**Enterprise Archive, 8:23 am**

* * *

"You need not to plan meetings this early in the morning after birthday parties," Carol frowned, blinked painfully as she eyed Adea's jittery mood.

"That's what coffee's for," Adea smirked, taking a sip from her mug as she leaned against the Archive table.

"Yes, well I don't have a handsome doctor who hand delivers my coffee each morning," Carol grumbled, "Some of us still have to have the energy to make it ourselves."

"Please," Adea sighed, "McCoy, Sulu, and Kirk started a couple hours before we got there. He was still in bed. I made my coffee myself, thank you very much."

"You must admit, you did at least have some fun," Carol smirked, "Kirk even made you a cake?"

"A glorified brownie," Adea smirked.

"And what about Chekov, hmm?" Carol teased, "Your glass was barely empty before he was offering to get you a new one. If he'd sat any closer to you, he'd've been on your lap."

"Always the charmer," Adea sighed.

"It's going to break Chekov's poor little heart when he finds out it was the good ol' Doctor, all this time," Carol huffed, feigning sadness, "Did McCoy get you something for your birthday?"

"No, he said he'd find something in Paris," Adea hummed, smirking as Carol raised her eyebrows at her.

"In Paris?" Carol repeated, "You two are going to Paris?"

"I'm not," Adea sighed, returning her coffee to the table as she turned to the Archive screen, "But he is during the first couple of weeks we're back on Earth for a conference."

Adea typed her security code into the system, smirking as the screen flickered green. She turned quickly towards the newly opened compartment, gingerly lifting the heavy case inside onto the table..

"If you're not going to Paris with McCoy, then what are you doing for the holidays once we're back?" Carol spoke up, lifting the first of the Klingon rifles out of the box as she laid it carefully on the table.

"Dunno," Adea shrugged, flipping a phaser charge over in her hands before setting it on the table, "McCoy's in Paris with his friends. You're with your parents. I'll probably be in San Francisco researching Klingon rifle tracking."

"You lead a sad life," Carol sighed, shaking her head slowly.

"Judgy much?" Adea huffed.

"I've got a better idea," Carol proposed, "Come to London with me. My parent's canceled and decided to stay in San Francisco. I have their flat in downtown London to myself. Shopping, restaurants, parks-whatever your heart desires, A, and if the doctor of yours gets a break, you're welcome to bring him along too."

"Why not?" Adea shrugged, sliding open the bolt of the rifle as she loaded the cartridge.

"Why not?" Carol mused, "Since when have you ever been so easily persuaded?"

"It's twenty minutes to the Starfleet Archive," Adea replied simply, smirking as Carol punched her in the shoulder.

"You're not coming to London for Christmas to spend the entire time in an Archive," Carol warned, balancing the rifle's stock against her shoulder as she glanced through the sight, "So let's figure out what's going on with your rifle."

She passed the rifle to Adea gently, crossing her arms as she leaned against the table.

"Every non-Federation-issued weapon has to be logged and signed off on before it can be transported on a Federation Starship," Carol started slowly, glancing down at the guns, "Whoever logged these weapons into the ship's archive is required to check weapons for any foreign alterations or implants that may endanger the lives of Starfleet personnel."

Carol reached forward slowly, waving a scanner over first rifle.

"Because weapons are logged, the system keeps track of make and models of each weapon," she explained, tilting the scanner screen towards Adea, "So if there are modifications made to the standard weapon, the scanner will pick it up."

"So implanted trackers," Adea started.

"Would be picked up by the scanner. Yes," Carol concluded, eyeing the screen, "This one has not been modified."

"And this one?" Adea asked curiously, stepping to the side as Carol scanned the second rifle.

"Also negative," Carol concluded, setting the scanner on the counter as Adea exhaled loudly.

"So nothing's wrong with either one of these?" Adea frowned.

"Now I didn't say that, did I? There's more than one way to test these" Carol tutted, picking up one of the rifles as she rotated towards the far end of the archive, "I got Kirk to drag one of the blast screens from the simulation room up here."

"Kirk dragged it up here for you?" Adea mused raising an eyebrow at Carol, "Is that a friendly dragging blast screens around the ship for you? Or a we just hooked up friendly gesture?"

"He is a friend," Carol huffed definitively, "But back to the rifles, shall we?"

"Sure," Adea smiled slowly, turning back to the blast screen.

"Now the scanner only picks up modifications from the standard model," Carol said, "But it would not account for components that are built into standard models. For example, a standard issue Klingon disruptor model typically does not have any tracking equipment. However-"

Carol turned slowly, aiming the rifle at the screen as she fired once, the red blast dissipating as it collided with the black material of the panel. She turned back to the table, ejecting the cartridge as she eyed the chamber.

"Some Klingon sentinel weapons were equipped with a module to alert nearby patrols if the weapon was discharged," Carol sighed, showing Adea the dark opening of the chamber, "You fired you weapon a handful of times to clear debris. Sulu did not. Only an idiot would not check the chamber of a Klingon rifle for one before logging the weapon, but its worth a look to see if that's why the followed you."

Carol exchanged the rifle for the one on the table, firing it at the dark screen. She ejected the second clip, raising an unamused eyebrow as she turned back to Adea.

"And there you have it," Carol concluded dryly as she pointed to the green beacon glowing in the chamber, "Mystery solved. You were almost killed by an idiot."

"Good to know," Adea mused quietly, glancing at the rifle as Carol returned it to the table, "So now what?"

"Well every non-Federation weapon has to be officially logged," Carol replied simply, logging into the Archive screen, "You can track down the idiot that didn't do their goddamn job and reprimand them. Better yet, get Kirk to do it. In the meantime, I'll double check everything else logged on the ship as "approved for use" before someone else on this ship nearly has their head blown off."

She typed quickly into the screen, crossing her arms as the search initiated. She scrolled for a moment before finding the entry, swearing under her breath as read the screen.

"Well, all the more reason to come to London," Carol huffed, pointing at the screen, "The idiot didn't log the weapon during this mission. It was logged the weapon beforehand at the archive in London. You'll need to check the id there. You can't do it remotely."

"So I am allowed to go to the archive if I visit you in London then?" Adea smirked.

"You are permitted maximum two trips to the archive," Carol stated.

"Two?" Adea mused.

"I mean it," Carol warned, "Do you accept my terms, Lieutenant Adea Ele? Will you be spending the holidays with me in London?"

"Terms accepted, Doctor Wallace," Adea smiled, her gaze slowly returning to the glowing green beacon on rifle as it wavered, flickering once before fading into darkness.

* * *

**And finally into the Into Darkness canon :) Thank you for the new follows and reviews. I like the support and I like hearing what you all think. Stay safe and per usual, live long and prosper. -Case**


	14. Confetti

**London, UK**

* * *

Adea groaned as the light floated into the room, rubbing her hands over her face as she sat up slowly. She pushed herself to the edge of the large bed, pulling her t-shirt down over her red boy-shorts as she stood up slowly. She glanced out the window towards the London skyline, yawning as she wandered into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow as Carol smiled brightly at her from stool at the counter.

"I thought opening the blinds might do the trick," Carol smirked, "Starting to worry you might sleep the day away."

"It's 8:00," Adea frowned, leaning her messy ponytailed head against Carol's shoulder.

"Exactly," Carol sighed, nodding towards the coffee machine as it whirred to life, "You told me you wanted to go to the Archive today, which means afterwards we have t-minus seven hours to find you a dress."

"Why can't I wear something you already have?" Adea sighed, raising an eyebrow at Carol.

"Because it's New Year's Eve and we did not get VIP tickets to Le Soir show up wearing the same old dresses we always do," Carol huffed, "Besides the theme is Champagne and Confetti. You need something gold or silver."

"This grey t-shirt is almost silver," Adea offered, smiling broadly as Carol frowned.

"I mean it," Carol warned, "I will be outside the Archive at 10, sharp. Besides, what all do you have to do? You type the report ID in, you get a name, you write it down, you leave."

"Yes. yes. yes," Adea huffed into her coffee mug, waltzing around the counter as she switched on the radio, "Any other requirements, Dr. Wallace?"

"You required to have fun today," Carol huffed, crossing her arms, "No complaining. No work talk. No staring desperately at your phone like McCoy didn't just text you ten minutes beforehand."

"I don't do that," Adea huffed as she met Carol's raised eyebrow, hesitatingly setting her phone on the countertop.

"No, of course," Carol sighed dramatically, "You never do that."

"Fine," Adea huffed, setting her coffee down as she placed her hands on her hips, "I will only be fun today."

"Are you sure that's possible?" Carol mused.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adea frowned, turning up the radio speaker, "Having so much fun I barely heard you. What did you say?"

"Oh god, not this song," Carol groaned, "Turn to Radio 1."

"How do you not like this song?" Adea asked, turning it louder.

"You can't even understand what he's saying, can you?" Carol sighed.

"Can't understand? Are you kidding me?" Adea mused, raising an eyebrow at Carol as she turned up the song, sliding across the floor out of Carol's reach.

"Adi, give it back," Carol sighed, reaching towards Adea as she spun out of reach.

"Ey, EY, EY AY EY!"

"I'm serious, A."

"Ey, EY, EY AY EY!"

"A..."

"Sorry, fun mode," Adea shrugged as she picked up the radio, twirling out of Carol's reach as she continued, "WELL I'M BACK IN BLACK! YES I'M BACK IN BLACK!"

Carol raised an eyebrow at Adea as she continued spinning around the room, using the speaker as an air guitar as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail. Adea continued head-banging as the guitar solo wailed on, her dark hair waving behind her as she slid across the living room floor. Adea looked up slowly as the vocals returned, her cheeks flushing red as she caught sight of Carol's phone.

"Carol Wallace Marcus, I swear to God if you don't delete that now," Adea hissed, gently tossing the speaker onto the couch as she lunged towards Carol.

"What?" Carol smirked, holding the phone away from Adea as she held her off with other arm, "I thought this was fun mode."

"What on Earth are you-" Adea started, her cheeks burning hotter as she caught sight of Carol's screen, "Did you send that to someone?"

"What?" Carol squeaked innocently, standing quickly as she shuffled to the other side of the counter.

"You sent it to someone!" Adea cried, chasing after Carol as she raced to the opposite in to the counter, "Who the hell did you send it to?"

"I forgot," Carol shrugged simply, shifting to the right as Adea edged closer.

"You forgot?" Adea mused, "Are you kidding me?"

"Go to the Archive, so you're not late to dress shopping," Carol called out, feigning left as she sprinted towards the right, dodging Adea as she raced towards her room.

"You're a dead woman, Carol Marcus!" Adea hissed, sprinting after Carol as she slammed her door shut.

"Fun mode," Carol's voice lilted from the other side, the lock clicking shut as Adea banged on the door.

* * *

**4\. Arrondissement, ****Paris, France**

* * *

McCoy glanced down at the gold pendant, his mouth pulling up in a faint smirk as he snapped the box closed, adjusting the collar of his coat against the wind as he glanced down at the green-grey water of the Seine. He turned back towards the Hotel de Ville as a loud whistle echoed, grinning as he spied mess of brown hair heading towards him.

"Ey! Asshole!" the Frenchman called out, raising his arms in exasperation as he walked towards McCoy.

The shorter man perched his cigarette at the edge of his mouth as he approached McCoy, running a hand through his already dishevelled hair.

"That's a terrible habit, Théo," McCoy commented.

"So is ze amount of whisky you can drink in one evening but do you see me giving a shit? " Théo shrugged, flicking his ashes onto the street as smirked, "My city. My rules. Besides, where were you today, hmm? We meet at 2 o'clock, no?"

"3 o'clock," commented a clipped British accent, its owner straightening the collar of his wool coat as he approached, "You should learn to read your texts, Théo."

"And you should learn to fuck off, Nick," Théo retorted calmly, grinning broadly as he clasped the man's hand.

"Well they just let anyone into Paris these days," McCoy drawled, clapping Nick on the back as he flashed a dimpled grin.

"I swear I feel like I'm back at the Academy seeing you two again," Nick sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, "How long has it been? At least three years since I saw Len in San Francisco. And Théo? You all but fell of the face of the Earth after the Academy."

"Some of us 'ave real jobs, you know, biomedical engineering," Théo huffed, shaking his head as he lit another cigarette, "Ze next time your top of ze line technology works on your fancy Starship, you're welcome, huh? New corporal scanner? hypospray zat doesn't make your tongue go numb? Vitals monitor for human _and_ non-human species? And _zat_ was just _last week_!"

"So I take it working in R&D is treating you well?" Nick mused.

"_Magnifique_," Théo sighed, a dreamy look in his dark eyes as he stared out over the water.

"And you, Len?" Nick mused, nudging McCoy's shoulder, "Whoever thought that out of the three of us, you'd be the only one still blasting around Federation space?"

"You're the one who decided to go into medical policy making," McCoy sighed, smirking at Nick, "I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind another doctor aboard the Enterprise."

"Jim Kirk. I miss that man," Nick smiled slowly, shaking his head, "How is he by the way?"

"Same old," McCoy replied, "As reckless and impulsive as ever."

"I still owe him a whisky from our last Poker match," Nick sighed, glancing towards the _quai_ as he tightened his scarf against the wind, "So, shall we get a move on then? I'm not sure about you two but I just got off a flight and I need a drink. Shall we?"

"About fucking time," Théo complained, crossing his arms as he sighed loudly, "I zought you two would stand here talking until next year."

They walked to the end of the bridge, pacing along the river as they made their way towards the _Marais_. They crossed the square in front of the city hall, following Nick as he beckoned down a side street.

"_Putain, non_," Théo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as they arrived in front of a dimly pub, "Why must we relive zis?"

"I thought you'd remember this place," Nick smirked, glancing at McCoy as recognition dawned in the southern doctor's eyes.

"Isn't this where we celebrated Théo's birthday the second year at the Academy?" McCoy asked slowly, glancing towards Théo as he groaned loudly, covering his face, "I'm surprised you even remember this place, Théo. We all but carried you out of here by your hands and feet."

"It was one time," Théo defended.

"Did you ever find your right shoe?" Nick smirked, removing his jacket as he took a seat at the bar, "I do recall you waking up without one."

Théo shot back an unamused glare, huffing out a string of French swear words as he took the stool besides Nick. He leaned forward as the bartender approached, ordering for the three of them as McCoy's pocket buzzed. McCoy glanced down quickly his phone, Nick and Théo's conversation fading into the background as he read the notification.

**You have one unread message:**

**Carol Wallace (7:47):** Just thought you should know what happens when you're away… Happy New Year, Doctor!

McCoy smirked as Adea slid into view, the red of her shorts flashing from underneath her large t-shirt as she raised the radio over her head. He shook his head slowly as she spun around again, her dark hair waving as she smiled, biting her lower lip. She glanced up suddenly at the camera, her dark eyes growing wide as lunged forward quickly, the video ending before her hand reached the camera.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Théo piped up, reaching forward to restart the video as McCoy held the phone away from him, "What are you watching? Sexy women in t-shirts?"

"Sexy women in t-shirts?" Nick mused, "What the hell are you two looking at?"

"Nothing," McCoy huffed quickly.

"Bullshit!" Théo countered, pointing at McCoy's phone, "What was zat video?"

"Can't you mind your damn business?" McCoy huffed.

"_Non_," Théo shrugged.

"Should I ask?" Nick sighed, taking a sip from his glass.

"My girlfriend and her friend are in London right now getting ready for New Year's," McCoy sighed.

"Wait, did she send that to you or is that her?" Théo mused, squaring towards McCoy on his stool.

"Yes, that's her," McCoy grumbled, frowning as he caught Théo's expression, "Don't look so surprised, asshole."

"But her?" Théo sighed, raising a confused eyebrow, "She looks like a model. She's dating you?"

"She's not a model, she's a diplomacy specialist on the Enterprise," McCoy huffed.

"And she's smart too," Théo sighed dreamily, nudging McCoy, "You are either out of your league or you must have a big-"

"Dammit, Theo, are you done yet?" McCoy groaned.

"Sometimes I really worry about him," Nick frowned, ruffling Théo's hair, "But he does have a point, mate. When do we get to see this mystery girl?"

"Can a man finish his damn drink first?" McCoy groaned.

"For now," Nick smirked quietly, raising his glass at the two of them, "What are they up to in my city anyways?"

* * *

**Harrods, London, England**

* * *

"Try this," Carol offered, sticking her arm through curtain as she held the shimmering fabric towards Adea.

"What is this?" Adea sighed, taking the dress as she held it up slowly.

"It's a EV suit," Carol clipped sarcastically.

"Where's the back?" Adea sighed, fingering the gold mesh as she reluctantly pulled the dress into the dressing room.

"Just try it," Carol sighed, taking a seat on a velvet cushion across from the cabin as her phone vibrated.

**Nicky (16:08):** Hello Car :) Random question for you: what's your friend's name visiting you in London?

**Carol (16:10):** Hello Nicky :* Adea, why?

**Nicky (16:10):** _typing..._

"Do you have it on?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow at Adea as she poked her head out from behind the curtain.

"Depends?" Adea sighed, eyeing Carol's phone, "Are you filming?"

"No," Carol huffed adamantly, "I'm texting Nicky."

"Nicky?" Adea asked, raising an eyebrow at Carol, "You mean the hot one from your high school that came to visit during second year? The one living in Singapore now?"

"See," Carol smirked defiantly, "Not filming."

"Almost done fastening it," Adea sighed, disappearing behind the curtain again.

"How'd this morning go, by the way?" Carol asked.

"Pain in the ass," Adea huffed, fiddling with the clasp around her waist, "You said the names are in the report."

"They should be," Carol asked.

"Well they weren't," Adea grumbled, "I spent over an hour scrolling over ID numbers, trying to find a match."

"Mmm, that happens sometimes," Carol frowned, "New recruits not yet in the system. Personnel are reassigned. Who knows. Did you find it though?"

"971300731," Adea stated slowly, "I thought it was the ID number for personnel of the Archive, but double checked. The archive's base number is 730 not 731."

"731?" Carol mused, "What the hell is 731? Sure it's not a typo?"

"How the hell should I know?" Adea sighed, staring blankly at the dress as she struggled to identify the opening for her head.

"I've never heard of 731," Carol frowned, glancing towards her phone as Nicky typed, "Are you sure that's the right personnel number?"

"I spend an hour searching for the number and another forty-five minutes searching for the damn base code. The number is burned into my skull," Adea huffed, her fingers fiddling behind her head as she fastening the final clasp, "I'll ask when the Archive staff reopen after New Years, but I think I will explode if I hear or think of the word base code in the next twenty four hours."

"I'd do that," Carol sighed, raising an eyebrow as she read the message the popped up on her screen.

**Nicky (16:12):** Any chance she's dating a doctor named Leonard McCoy?

**Carol (16:12):** A very specific question. Depends :) Who's asking?

**Nicky (16:14):** Asking for my tipsy doctor sitting across from me going on about her ;)

**Carol (16:15):** Wait, your friend Len is McCoy?

**Nicky (16:15):** The very same.

**Carol (16:16)**: You're in Paris with McCoy?

**Nicky (16:18):** For now ;) ...

"What's McCoy doing for New Year's?" Carol mused, glancing up towards the changing room curtain.

"He's still in Paris with a couple of his friends from when he was enrolled at the Academy," Adea answered, "Why?"

"You didn't want to invite him here?" Carol asked.

"He's with his friends he hasn't seen in years," Adea shrugged, "He saw almost everyday for a year and he'll see me in a couple of weeks. I'll see him soon."

"Mhmmm," Carol hummed dubiously.

"If it's fun day Adea, then its non-judgy Carol day," Adea commented, poking her head from behind the curtain.

"That depends. Are you finally done changing?" Carol sighed.

"I mean, it's a miracle this dress stays in place," Adea sighed, pulling back the curtain as she looked towards Carol, "But…"

"Holy shit, Adea," Carol commented, staring up at Adea as the gold dress shimmered.

"I wanted to hate it," Adea sighed slowly, stepping out of the cabin as she turned slowly in front of the mirror, brushing fluttering gold sleeves, "I wanted to hate it so badly."

"You have to get it," Carol stated, standing slowly as she caught sight of Adea's smirk.

"Do I want to know?" Adea sighed, glancing towards the tag.

"It's Fannie Schiavoni's new line," Carol smirked slowly, "It's probably best not to look."

"This is why I set limits before I got shopping with you," Adea sighed, eyeing Carol's devious grin.

"What did I do?" Carol mused innocently, "I mean, you said yourself, you didn't want to like it but-"

"Don't you have a guy to text?" Adea teased, "Or is causing conflicting feelings about a certain James Tiberius Kirk?"

"You can change now," Carol quipped, turning her attention back to her phone as it buzzed again.

* * *

**Paris, 3. Arrondissement, France**

* * *

"So what is ze plan?" Théo smirked, glancing at his watch, "It is now 8 o'clock and ze tipsier I get, ze more ze terrible memories of zis pub come back. Let's go. I want to dance."

"I don't dance," McCoy huffed decidedly.

"I bet you would dance if zat girl of yours was dancing in front of you like that video, hmm?" Théo smirked, his grin growing as he met McCoy's glare.

"Nick, what's your proposal before I have to knock Théo's loud mouth out?" McCoy announced suddenly, exhaling loudly as he finished his whisky.

"Well, I'm glad you asked," Nick replied coyly, smiling slowly.

"I'm not sure if I like that smirk any better coming from you," McCoy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So I have tickets to a New Year's Eve party at a club this evening," Nick started slowly.

"Perfect. Let's go," Théo declared, sliding of his stool as he glanced

"A club?" McCoy sighed.

"Don't worry," Nick beamed, clapping McCoy's shoulder, "You're gonna love it."

"I doubt that," McCoy grumbled.

"There's a catch, though," Nick sighed, glancing at his watch, "If we want to go, we have to leave now."

"Leave now?" McCoy sighed, glancing at his own watch, "What New Year's Eve party starts at 8?"

"It doesn't start at 8," Nick replied calmly, "But if you two want to change and make it to the hypershuttle on time, then we should head back to the hotel now."

"Hypershuttle?" McCoy repeated, "What the hell are you up to, Nick?"

"Does it matter?" Théo sighed, exhaling loudly, "Let's. Go. Allez."

"Nothing," Nick sighed innocently, "It's just I got these lovely tickets from my good friend Carol. It's nearly impossible get into Le Soir for New Year's. It's the best club in downtown London."

"Carol in London?" McCoy repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow at Nick, "Carol Wallace?"

"Who's Carol?" Théo sighed.

"Mm, do you know her?" Nick asked, feigning surprised as he glanced up at McCoy, "She's hanging out with her friends in London right now."

"So how long have you been plotting this?" McCoy drawled, nodding at Nick.

"Since this afternoon when I put the dots together," Nick shrugged, smirking.

"How do you know Carol?" McCoy asked.

"High school, mostly," Nick replied, smirking innocently as McCoy raised his eyebrows at him.

"Ey oh," Theo whistled, "What are we talking about?"

"Carol took that video McCoy got this morning," Nick stated calmly, winking at McCoy.

"Woah, woah, woah. Your girl is in London? At zis club?" Théo piped up excitedly, nudging McCoy's should, "I bet you dance now, huh?"

"Goddamn schemers," McCoy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "The both of you."

"Don't blame me," Théo shrugged, "I just go along with ze plan."

"Come now, Len," Nick sighed, "I didn't negotiate these tickets for nothing."

"And ruin her girl's night?" McCoy mused, "I'm not just gonna barge in there while she's with her friends. Clearly you've never dealt with a Uhura temper."

"Do you think Carol would honestly invite us if she thought it would ruin girl's night?" Nick questioned, standing up slowly as he grabbed his coat.

"Nick-"

"_Non,_ no excuse," Théo huffed, grabbing McCoy's coat, "It is simple math. Your girl looks like zat, you don't stay here in a shitty pub with Nick."

"I'm not sure that's math," McCoy sighed.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to see her and we'll stay here," Nick sighed, glancing up at McCoy.

"Of course I want to see her," McCoy huffed, "But-"

"La, la, la, la, la. Ok, it's settled, we go," Théo huffed decisively, "Besides, maybe she brings friends, hmm?"

"And I agree with Théo for once," Nick smirked, flashing McCoy coy grin as he turned towards the door, disappearing into the cobblestoned street.

* * *

**Le Soir, London, England**

* * *

"See?" Carol sighed, striding past the line of glittering dresses queueing outside the club, "Told you tickets come in handy."

"So does a taxi," Adea shivered, pulling her coat tighter as she paced after Carol as they arrived at the door.

"There you two are!" A blonde woman at the door called out, the crystals in her starred headband glittering as she rushed towards the two of them.

"Since when are you early, Christine?" Carol sighed, pulling her friend into a tight hug.

"Since it's cold outside and I have a tiny metallic dress," she huffed, smiling broadly as she turned towards Adea, "But apparently nothing on yours, Lovely. How are you, Adi?"

"Good and good to see you again, Christine," Adea smiled slowly as the blonde gripped her in a tight hug.

"Shall we?" Christine urged, flashing a bright smile at the bouncer as they slipped in the door, "I didn't squeeze into this tiny dress to wear over it coat all night."

They crossed the dance floor as they made their way to stairs towards the upper deck.

"God, it's been ages since I saw you both," Christine smiled, swerving through the crowd, "At least not since we were all living in Fort Baker. And now you're both assigned to the Enterprise? You two have all the fun."

"You're welcome to join," Carol offered, "I'm sure we could pull some strings."

"The world's most photogenic crew?" Christine mused, "I don't think I'd make the cut. I mean you two, the captain, the chief science officer? Who isn't attractive on that crew? I mean, have you seen the ship's doctor?"

"Funny you should mention the doctor," Carol smirked, nudging Adea as she blushed.

"The doctor?" Christine asking, eyeing Adea curiously, "Is that a crush or a thing?"

"I think its a bit more than a thing the last time I checked," Carol mused.

"Adea Ele," Christine tutted, suppressing her impressed smirk as she shook her head, "Wasn't Dr. McCoy your advisor?"

"I'm ignoring both of you," Adea huffed, ignoring Christine's giggle as she approached a familiar face.

"Oh no," the bearded bouncer smiled, looking up at the three of them as he pulled Adea into hug, "You have to give me a heads up when my favorite three ladies are going to show up."

"Hi, Robert," Carol smiled.

"Beautiful as ever, Carol," he replied, kissing her hand, "But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to break your heart this evening. Someone called in a favor two days ago and reserved the entire upper deck."

"Reserved?" Carol frowned, "What do you mean its reserved? The VIP ticket is always on the upper deck?"

"Last minute change," Robert sighed, "Friend of the owner decided to have his own event."

"So what's the point of a VIP ticket?" Carol sighed "What are we supposed to do with a full champagne bottle on a crowded dance floor?"

"I mean you don't have to carry it," Christine offered, "You could also just drink it."

"I don't need your lip right now, Chris," Carol huffed, "Honestly-"

"Is there any chance there would be space up there for three?" Adea smirked.

Robert exhaled slowly, smirking as slowly as he eyed Adea's red-lipped pout.

"I can ask the host and see if he'll make an exception," Robert sighed, "But no promises, and only 'cause you three look as gorgeous as always."

Adea turning to Carol.

"See what happens when you're nice?" Adea teased.

"Yes, I'm sure he's doing a favor because you great personality," Christine trilled dryly, "But who on earth books a party two days before New Year's?"

"Seriously," Carol huffed, glancing behind her at the crowded dance floor, "What idiot decides last minute to host their own party at one of the most popular clubs in London?"

"Well you better hope that idiot lets you upstairs or you're going to be miserable all night," Adea smirked.

"But honestly, A," Carol huffed, crossing her arms, "What self-absorbed, megalomanic ass-hole-"

"You've got to be kidding me," Adea smirked slowly, staring at upper deck as Robert reappeared around the corner, the gold-blazered host in tow.

"Oi," Scotty called out, beaming broadly as he spied the two of them, "What the hell are two doing in London? Get up here!"

"He knows you two?" Christine mused, raising an eyebrow at the man as he emphatically waved them up the staircase.

"Robbie, these are my shipmates. We're on the Enterprise together," Scotty explained proudly as they walked up the stairs.

"Well this is a small world," Carol mused, hugging Scotty.

"Hello Scotty," Adea greeted.

"Since when are you London, Lassie?" Scotty questioned excitedly, "Give a ring next time, would ya? I would've put you on the guest list."

"This is your party?" Carol mused, glancing wide eyed around the upper deck.

"What? This up here?" Scotty questioned, nodding at his silver-suited friend perched on the back of the sofa, "No, this was all Keenser's idea. But enough about how you got here, let's get you a drink."

Adea exchanged a quick look with Carol, shaking her head as Scotty waved the three of them towards the bar.

"Thank you, Robert," Adea smirked, flashing a smile as the bouncer returned a grin, returning to his post at the bottom of the stairs.

"Keenser?" Carol mused quietly, waving across the room as their shipmate nodded curtly.

"Do I detect judgy Carol?" Adea teased, raising an eyebrow at Carol as they followed slowly behind Scotty.

"Seriously, A, when is the last time you heard him talk?" Carol muttered quietly.

"Remember to say thank you," Adea sighed, winking at Carol as they joined Scotty at the bar.

"What'll it be, then?" Scotty sighed, leaning against the bar, "It's all on the house for tonight and they have everything."

"Gin tonic," Carol ordered, flashing a kilowatt smile at the bartender, "A?"

"Dark and stormy," Adea ordered.

"And you, lass?" Scotty mused, turning towards Christine, "I don't think we've properly met."

"Christine Chapel," the blonde beamed, "I was a cadet with these two at the Academy before I started my residency at Headquarters."

"Well, lovely ya meet ya. Montgomery Scott, " Scotty sighed, grasping her hand as he nodded towards the couch, "You can put your coats over there if you like. It's just Keenser's friends up her and a few of my mates still living London."

Adea removed her coat slowly, smoothing the front of her dress as she sat it besides the others in the chair besides the sofa.

"Now that is a New Year's dress," Christine commented, waltzing around Adea as she fingered the gilded sleeve of the dress, "I might as well go home now. You look like a goddamn goddess. It's practically painted onto you."

"Told you it was stunning," Carol added, glancing at Christine.

"It's just a dress," Adea mused quietly.

"And Jim Kirk's just a average looking man," Christine huffed, as they crossed the deck back to the bar, "That is something else, Adi."

"Oi, lassie, your drink is-" Scotty trailed off as he caught sight of the dress, the glass nearly spilling as he sat it promptly on the counter, "That is, wow…"

He trailed off abruptly, swallowing hard as blinked up at her.

"That is some dress, Lieutenant," Scotty mumbled quickly, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced awkwardly at the dancefloor, "I mean…"

"Told you," Carol muttered quietly, nudging Adea as she took her own drink.

"I, uh, I think Keenser said something. I'll be right back," Scotty mumbled quickly, "Cheers!"

"Just a dress," Carol clipped, nudging Adea's arm as they moved towards the railing overlooking the dance floor.

"Fine," Adea sighed, glancing down at the glittering gold fabric, "It is a bit showy."

"Showy?" Christine huffed, "You're like a gilded Victoria's Secret model. Poor Montgomery Scott looks like he just had a heart attack."

Adea snorted quietly, rolling her eyes at the two of them as she took a long sip of her drink.

"Don't be coy now," Carol mused, watching Adea as she closed her eyes, swaying with the music, "Will you admit now that you like the dress?"

"Perhaps," Adea smirked, opening a single eye to glance at Carol as she turned slowly, the neon lights reflecting off the metallic paillettes of her dress.

"Please," Christine sighed, "Scotty can barely keep his mouth shut and half the guys down there on the dance floor are staring at you."

"They are not," Adea countered, rolling her eyes at Carol.

"Oh really? Then what's with that man over there by the bar," Carol sighed, gesturing to the floor below them, "That poor man looks like he just died and went to heaven."

"You're hilarious, Carol," Adea smirked, taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm serious, A, if his jaw gets any lower, I swear it would go straight through the floor," Carol continued, smiling slowly as she stared down at the dance floor.

"Which one?" Christine asked, scanning the crowd quickly before turning to Carol slowly, an eyebrow raised, "That one?"

"Mmm," Carol confirmed, smirking innocently as she glanced at Christine.

"Oh, Adi, I think you really should get a look at this guy though," Christine pressed, nudging Adea's arm.

"Fine then," Adea sighed, shaking her head as she scanned the bar, "Where?"

"There," Christine nodded, "Leaning against the corner of the bar in a suit. I mean, damn, that is a suit."

"I don't see him," Adea shrugged.

"I mean how can you miss him, A?" Carol sighed, "He's staring right at you."

"Carol, there's hundreds of people in here," Adea sighed, "What guy are you-"

Adea's breath caught in her throat, the edges of her mouth twitching upwards as she stared open mouthed at McCoy's handsome smirk.

_Good God that suit…._

Sure, she'd seen his in his Starfleet uniform, coming to and from events, but this was something else. Every inch of it was tailored perfection, from the dark fabric across his shoulders to the unbuttoned white collar of his button down against his tanned skin. _Since when was he a suit guy?_ Adea clapped her mouth shut as McCoy began moving towards the stairs, her heartbeat echoing loudly in her ears as her face burned.

"He's look a lot like that Enterprise doctor if you ask me," Christine commented, nudging Adea's arm.

"Carol, how did you-" Adea started, trailing off slowly as she spied the handsome brunette trailing being McCoy as the men made their way through the crowd. "Is that Nicky?"

"He was in Paris this morning with his friends when he was texting this morning," Carol drawled slowly, "Turns out we shared a mutual friend."

"What-" Adea mumbled quickly, falling silent as she spied McCoy at the foot of the stairs.

"A little birdie named Carol told me there was a dress in London tonight I had see in person," McCoy drawled slowly, his green eyes trailing the length of the dress as he stared up at Adea as he walked up stairs, "But this is something else."

"Lee," Adea sputtered, wrapping her arms around his neck, "You're here!"

"Mhmm, got here, then nearly died," McCoy started, his hands trailed her waist, pulling her closer to him,"Goddamn, Sweetheart, you gotta warn a man before you wear a dress like that, hmm? "

"Oh, really?" Adea smirked innocently.

"Mmm," McCoy hummed in response, a devilish glint flashing in his dark eyes as he leaned towards her slowly, "About to get both of us in trouble."

"Goodness!" Scotty called out loudly, walking excitedly towards McCoy, "The entire Enterprise is here tonight. Good to see you, Doctor!"

"Scotty's here," Adea muttered quietly, stepping back suddenly.

"Well God forbid Scotty's here, Adi," McCoy replied dryly, straightening up slowly as his hands left Adea's waist.

"Lee, that's not-"

"So what brings to you London, Doctor?" Scotty asked, obliviously clapping McCoy on the back.

"Just visiting friends, I guess," McCoy stated indifferently, glancing down at Adea as he turned towards his friends, "Nick? Théo? Drinks?"

Adea exhaled slowly through her nose as McCoy stepped past her wordlessly, frowning as she glanced at Carol.

"Scotty's here?" Carol repeated, glancing over her shoulder as the guys made it to the bar before turning back to Adea.

"Don't start, Carol," Adea huffed, moving to lean against the railing, "He's now in a mood. I don't need you in one either."

"Me? You friendzoned him because Scotty's here?" Carol mused.

"I didn't friendzone him," Adea sighed, moving to lean against the railing.

"You went from jumping his bones to job interview mode the moment Scott walked over," Carol countered.

"Well forgive me if I don't want my entire ship speculating and gossiping about my life like Nyota," Adea huffed.

"Is this still the whole advisor thing or am I missing something?" Christie asked, her blue-eyed gaze slowly turning from Adea as she glanced towards Carol.

"Do you want to update her or shall I?" Carol asked.

"Could you not right now?" Adea groaned, exhaling loudly through her nose as she glared towards Carol.

"Adea can make up her mind if McCoy is her boyfriend or not because apparently that's easier than confronting that word of it might one day get back to her meddling, intimidating mother," Carol concluded, eyeing Adea, "Does that sum it up?"

"No I don't," Adea argued back.

"Please, half the ship does that anyway about you and Kirk, I don't see you caring about that," Carol started.

"You have a thing with Kirk too?" Christine mused.

"No!" Adea snapped angrily, crossing her arms, "It's different, Carol."

"Why because he's your _boyfriend_?" Carol asked, "Or is he? I can't tell."

"Do you not have anything better to do right now?" Adea snapped.

"You can't make up your mind, Adi," Carol sighed, "You want a boyfriend as long as you can still push him away like he isn't one."

"Are you done yet?" Adea huffed.

"I swear you've gotten judgier since I last saw you," Christine mused, eyeing Carol, "If the girl needs time to figure things out, why push it?"

"That man just put on a suit and flew in from Paris to surprise you and spend New Year's Eve with you," Carol continued, "And you just expect him to wait around while you act like you barely know him because of what other people might think?"

"Or push it," Christine sighed.

"Well as always, thank you for that unsolicited advice, Carol," Adea quipped tiredly, "I'm going downstairs for a bit."

Adea paced down the stairs as she made her way towards the dance floor, breaking her frown for a moment to offer Robert a quick smirk. She edged through the crowd slowly, squeezing through the packed party goers as she arrived at the lower bar. She shifted uncomfortably in her heels, glancing around at the glittering lights flashing off bottles as she caught the eye of the bartender.

"Botucal, straight," Adea ordered, turning as someone slid closely into the barstool besides her.

"Two please and it's on me," the familiar man smiled, flashing a boyish grin, "A beautiful woman should never drink alone. Théodore Chevallier."

"You're Théo," Adea replied slowly.

"I am," Théo smirked, sliding cash to the bartender as their drinks arrived, "And you must be the beautiful Adea, _non_? You ran off before we could formally meet."

"Oh," Adea mumbled quickly, "Yeah, I just...needed a moment."

"No matter," Théo smirked, raising his glass, "_Santé._"

"_Santé_," Adea replied, clinking his glass.

"A good accent," Théo mused, "_Tu parles français_?"

"_De temps en temps_," Adea smirked, as Théo raised his eyebrows.

"Now I am truly in awe," Théo sighed, shaking his head slowly, "No wonder Len doesn't shut up about you."

"Yes, well, I think I've successfully pissed him off for the evening," Adea sighed.

"Because you want to make a scene in front of your crewmates?" Théo asked, "Please, I totally understand."

"Really?" Adea mused tiredly, "Well that makes one person."

"My ex-girlfriend was Andorian," Théo started, "And her family did not approve of us dating."

"So, let me guess, you two hid it from your crew so they didn't find out?" Adea sighed.

"Non, we didn't hide it at all and after one particularly nasty argument with her father, he tried to kill me," Théo answered simply, raising his sleeve to reveal a jagged scar on his arm, "Nearly did too."

"I don't follow," Adea started slowly, staring blankly at Théo.

"Point is," Théo sighed, pulling his sleeve down again, "Life is full of assholes. Do what makes you happy."

"I'm not sure if that is the best or the worst advice I've ever heard," Adea commented slowly, eyeing Théo as he finished his drink in a single gulp.

"Perhaps, but unless I'm wrong, you're idea of a happy evening is not sitting alone at a bar by yourself," Théo shrugged.

"No?" Adea mused, shaking her head as Théo ordered a second round, "What gave it away?"

"I would say ze dress," Théo shrugged, raising an amused eyebrow at Adea, "But who knows. I grew up in Paris, ze fashion capital of ze Federation. Maybe zis is just casual for you?"

"Casual?" Adea repeated incredulously.

"My point exactly. It is not ze dress," Théo sliding cash to the bartender as their drinks arrived, "It is because you are not dancing."

"Sorry to break it to you," Adea shrugged, "I don't dance."

"Well you see, I saw a video zat suggests otherwise," Théo sighed, pouring her first glass into the second as he pushed the brimming highball towards her.

"Video?" Adea trailed off, glancing away from the glass as she stared up at Théo, "What v-"

"Ah yes, you remember!" Théo smiled broadly as she groaned, taking a sizeable sip from her glass, "Was zat AC/DC I heard?"

"I'm going to kill, Carol," Adea huffed.

"_Non,_ we do not need to kill people yet. I have a better idea," Théo smirked, nodding towards the upper deck, "You are going to drink this. We are going to go back upstairs where we will celebrate the New Year with champagne on ze house. Zen we are going dancing, because with enough alcohol in zeir system, everyone dances."

"Consider me the exception," Adea sighed, raising an eyebrow as Théo pushed her glass towards her.

"Surely you do," Théo countered, "Everyone dances. But you know who dances really well, hmm? My friend Len. One of the lucky few who is actually coordinated after several glasses of whisky."

"So that's why you came down here," Adea drawled slowly.

"For him? _Non._ I am a selfish man," Théo smirked innocently, "I just want my goddamn peace and quiet."

"Peace and quiet?" Adea mused dubiously.

"Exactly!" Théo sighed, "Four years. Four fucking years, he won't shut up about you. Zis girl I met on a rooftop. Oh, I saw her again in ze library. I zink I'm falling for her. Oh no, I don't know anymore. Théo, Guess who's on my ship? I'm in Paris, where can I shop for a gift for her? It's exhausting."

Théo trailed off quietly, smirking as she glanced down, blushing.

"What? You zink he doesn't talk about you?" Théo mused, "Judge all you want but I saw ze look on your face when you saw him, hmm? He's not alone. So go spend your night doing what makes you happy."

He nudged Adea's arm, drinking a sizeable portion Adea's drink as he passed it back to her.

"Ze rest is yours," Théo said, wobbling slightly as he stepped away from the bar, offering her his arm, "Mademoiselle?"

Adea shook her head slowly, finishing her drink as she linked arms with Théo. They edged through the crowded dance floor, the sea of glittering guests pulsing with each beat of the dance line. Théo's words echoed through her head as they bobbed through the crowd, her thoughts flashing through her memories like the neon lights waving above her head. _Each lopsided smirk. Each touch. Each kiss. _Perhaps it was Théo's words, or the dance floor, or God forbid, whatever combination of drinks flowing through her system sent she'd begun getting ready at Carol's. But as she racked her mind for an excuse, a worry, for the first time in four years she found herself drawing a blank. She glanced up at the railing as her heart pounding in her ears, her eyes scanning the upper deck with a newfound determination.

_She needed to find him...and for once, regret, fear, and worry be damned. _

"Where on Earth did you go, Adi?" Christine called out, pacing towards the two of them as they arrived on the upped deck, "It's almost midnight."

"I was at the bar," Adea frowned, glancing over railing down as the crowd began counting down from thirty, "Where's McCoy?"

"I thought he was with you," Christine replied slowly, "Nick, Carol, and McCoy went downstairs looking for you."

"They did?" Adea frowned as the countdown reached twenty, scanning the crowd nervously.

"You didn't see them?" Christine asked, glancing around as the crowd reached ten.

"_Et voila!_" Théo exclaimed loudly, gesturing to the trio as they reappeared.

Adea exhaled slowly as she met McCoy's gaze, a relieved look flashing across his face as he caught sight of her. She raced towards him as the room erupted, gold confetti filling the air as it fluttered down from the rafters.

"Adi," McCoy breathed, offering her an apologetic smile as she came to a stop in front of him, "I'm sorry. Look, I know-"

He fell silent as Adea leaned forward suddenly, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed her lips against his. He gave into the kiss slowly as the first notes of Auld Lang Syne rang out. His left hand gripped her waist as the other cupped her face slowly, his thumb brushing her cheek as he deepened a kiss. She smiled against his lips as her hands trailed into his hair, his tongue brushing again hers. She stepped closer to him as he sucked her bottom lip, his hands drifting lower on her waist as-

"Did I miss something?" Scotty mused loudly, his face locked in open-mouthed confusion as he glanced between the two of them.

Adea blushed violently as they broke the kiss, glancing away from Scotty as she ran an awkward hand through her hair.

"Don't think so," McCoy sighed slowly, raising an amused brow at Adea.

"Uh, nope," Adea replied quickly, her voice squeaking out an octave higher than usual.

"Well, uh, Happy New Year then," Scotty answered slowly, his mouth snapping shut as he pointed towards the bar, nodding slowly, "I'm, uh, gonna go find...someone."

He turned abruptly, hurrying after Théo as Adea groaned, resting her head against McCoy's chest.

"Well that's one way to start a new year," McCoy drawled slowly, his thumb trailing her cheek as he tilted her chin towards his, the celebrations of the New Year fading into the background as his lips met hers again.

* * *

**Confession Time: **

**1\. I love Théo. I love him so much. **

**2\. This was a long chapter. Debated breaking it into, but alas its New Year's (at least to them). Why not?**

**3\. ****As always, let me know what you think, like, dislike. Lemme know!**

**4\. Stay safe, readers. Live Long & Prosper! - Case H. **


	15. Georgia

**London, UK, 2259**

* * *

Adea blinked open slowly, the silver pendant resting against McCoy's tan chest coming into focus. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so well, the usual buzzing thoughts racing through her head falling blissfully silent. _No need to wake up early. No need to rush to work. No need to pull herself out of bed before the crew woke. _She yawned contently, closing her eyes again as she nuzzled closer to McCoy's chest.

"Bout time you woke up," McCoy drawled, his hand trailing down her arm as his lips brushed her hair.

The three days since New Year's had seen to race by in blur. It hadn't taking much for them to convince the boys to drag their trip out in London through the upcoming weekend. _Lunches, walks, dipping in and out of whatever bars and clubs Nick and Carol remembered from their rebellious teenage years… _She'd known McCoy for nearly four years but there was something different about spending so much time with him outside the confines of their apartments. _Sitting closely whenever they could, his arm draped over her shoulders. His hand brushing her waist as they walked through crowded spaces, his hand trailing her arm until his fingers interlocked with hers. Waking up each morning beside him. _She knew it was just a matter of time before they'd receive the order to return to the Enterprise. _Maybe sooner if Kirk would answer her texts about his meeting with Pike…._ _And what then? _Scotty had seen them and even if she tried her best to hide things, it wouldn't take long for someone else to catch on. _God forbid her sister. _Even if she did have a thing with Spock, Adea wasn't sure how Nyota would react. _Maybe she'd take it well? _

Adea snorted, rubbing her eyes as she inhaled deeply. _That'd be the day..._

She smirked as McCoy shifted beneath her cheek, the gold pendant around her neck sliding across its chain. _Carpe Diem_. The fine inscription scrawled above the winged hourglass. _So she'd stop worrying and learn to live a little, _he'd said, handing her the small velvet box the morning they'd woken up after the New Year's party. She hardly imagined herself to be a sentimental jewelry wearer….y_et here she was, _smirking like an idiot each time she caught sight of the small pendant glinting in the light.

"I don't want to wake up," Adea groaned, reluctantly opening an eye as she glanced up at him.

"C'mon now, you got a busy day ahead of you," McCoy smirked, rotating onto his side as his fingers trailed down her collarbone to the gold pendant around her neck, "If I remember correctly, you agreed to be my date tonight."

"Hearsay," Adea huffed.

"Hearsay?" McCoy mused, his hand trailing down her chest to her waist, "Oh, I remember quite the opposite response. A very emphatic yes if my memory serves me right."

"A drunken New Year's' yes three days ago," Adea countered, "And since when do you like galas anyways? Am I to understand you want to spent your second to last night in the beautiful city of London, schmoozing with Starfleet Med School alumni?"

"Schmoozing?" McCoy chuckled, pulling her closer to him, "Please. I've been blowing off Nick's invitation for the past four years. Besides I have a hot date to show off."

"Do you now?" Adea mused, raising an eyebrow at McCoy as his fingers brushed against the sensitive skin above her hip, "Well then I guess I should start my day then."

"I thought you said you didn't want to get up," McCoy drawled, his stubbled chin brushing her neck as his lips trailed her jaw line.

"Busy day," Adea sighed, pursing her lips at the devilish look that flashed in his dark eyes, "And you need to behave. If Carol's not up, she will be in a moment, and I swear these walls are paper thin."

"I always behave," McCoy tutted defiantly, his hand leaving her waist as it began trailing up her thigh.

"That is a lie and you know it," Adea countered, her stern tone faltering as his fingers brushed against the thin fabric panties.

"Is it so, Sweetheart?" McCoy replied in a low voice, the edges of his mouth twitching upward as he watched her bite her lip.

"Lee, don't even start-"

"Start what?" McCoy sighed, smirking at her closed-eyed gasp as he pushed a finger into her.

Adea clenched her jaw, biting back the noise that threatened to escape her lips as his hand moved again. He responded with an amused twitch of his smirk as her back arched, a second finger joining the first as he leaned forward slowly, his lips brushing hers. She stifled a moan against his lips as a noise echoed in the kitchen, a loud whimper nearly slipping through her lips as her concentration lapsed.

"They're...up," Adea hissed, her warning tone catching in her throat, "Lee, I swear, if they hear-"

"Then I'd be awfully quiet if I were you, Sweetheart," McCoy drawled in a dangerously low tone, his rough skin of his thumb brushing the tip of her tongue as he held his hand to her mouth.

His lips trailed to her neck as as his fingers moved faster, pressing into her as her bottom lip trembled against his thumb. Adea's back arched as the sensation between her legs pulsed stronger, shivering as his tongue trailed along her neck. She shuddered sharply as the movement grew faster, his fingers pulsing a final time before it pushed her over the edge. She exhaled loudly through her nose, her pendant thudded against her collarbone with each weighted pulse of her heart. She groaned quietly as McCoy kissed her cheek, closing her eyes as her mouth twitched upwards into a satisfied grin. She sat up slowly as McCoy stood, stretching her arms slowly over her head as McCoy tossed a t-shirt at her, cracking a wide grin.

"Hey!" Adea huffed, "What the hell was that for?"

"I thought you said you had a busy day?"McCoy commented innocently, pulling on a t-shirt as he paced towards the bedroom door, "Can't be lazing in bed all day."

Adea shook her head slowly as he flashed a final grin, the door clicking quietly shut behind him.

* * *

**Kelvin Memorial Archive, London, UK**

* * *

Adea sat her bag on the floor besides her chair as she swiped her ID card, logging into the Archive computer. She opened her PADD as the system buffered, her fingers absently trailing to the golden pendant around her neck as she smirked to herself, biting her lip as her mind trailed back to the way his hands-

_Focus. _

She needed to focus.

_97100731._

She drummed her fingers absently as she scrolled through the list. _Something had to give... _She reopened the entry, frowning slowly as she reread the report. _It definitively was 731._ Adea scrolled slowly through the report, attempting in vain to click on the report author number. _Maybe…_ She returned to the base directory, scrolling manually through the list 7-coded London bases, mumbled the numbers to herself as the cursor reached the end of the page.

"Fucking hell," she exhaled tersely, running a frustrated hand through her hair as she glanced back down at number typed into her notes.

She tapped her stylus against her bottom lip, cocking her head slightly as she stared back at the screen. _What if…. _She returned to the main screen of the archive search page, holding her pen in her mouth as she began typing.

_Base Code 731. _

A tone beeped as the search yielded no results.

_Base Code 31. _

No results can be found for this search.

_User ID 97100731._

Adea swore under her breath as the 'no results' tone beeped again, removing the pen from her mouth as she stuck it behind her ear.

_Weapon Clearance Report. _

There are 416.892 results available for this result.

_Nope. __That wouldn't work. _

Adea hesitated for a moment longer, glancing down at her PADD notes. She flicked to a previous page, hesitating as she stumbled upon her attempts to translate the Klingon message. _How about…_

_Klingon Weapon Clearance Report. _

There are 78 results available for this result.

Adea smirked slowly, scrolling through the results before returning to the search bar.

_Klingon Weapon Clearance Report, Year 2258. _

There are 48 results available for this result.

_Finally, _Adea smiled, opening the first report as she scanned for the user ID.

"And there you are," Adea smirked, spying the familiar 731 user.

She turned back to the results paged as she scrolled forward, clicking on the next report on the list. _Also 731. _She paused for a moment, rereading the number as she returned to the list, opening the third report. _731? _She hesitated, chewing her bottom lip as she continued through the list.

_All 48? _

She re-entered the search for _Weapon Clearance Report - Klingon_, scrolling through the first few entries from last year. _Nothing. _She exhaled steadily, an uneasy feeling twisting in her stomach as she returned to the results for Klingon weapons, changing the year to 2257. _Nothing. _2256\. _Nothing. _She returned slowly to the results for 2258, reopening the first report as she began jotting down the report numbers into the PADD.

She leaned closer to the screen as she rested her PADD on her knee, startling suddenly as a voice tutted behind her. She turned sharply, her hazel eyes falling on the tall, pale man who now stood beside her.

"An unusual search, Lieutenant," he commented, his cold grey eyes scanning her with a bored disinterest, "Surely you didn't travel all the way the London to view Klingon weapons reports?"

"I'm sorry, can I help you?" Adea frowned, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"You can't hardly imagine the Archive wouldn't monitor the search history?" the man sighed, inclining his head as he gazed towards her with cold amusement,"You of all people should know that."

"What the hell does that mean?" Adea snapped.

"Lieutenant Adea Uhura-Ele," the man stated simply, his piercing eyes flickering towards her ID before they turned back to her, "You mother must be proud. Youngest woman promoted to the rank of admiral. First woman to command an entire Federation Starbase. Won't be long before her youngest daughter follows in her footsteps, will it?"

"How on Earth did you know that?" Adea breathed, swallowing uncomfortably as the man's measured gaze never faltered for an instant.

"You would be astounded by what one can find working in this Archive," he stated cooly, his glacial gaze turning to the notes on her PADD as he tutted his tongue, "Mislogged Klingon weapons, issued to an active duty Federation Starship. I do hope the Federation's standards have not stooped so remarkably low. One can only imagine the unfathomable consequences, had the Klingons managed to track and kill the unfortunate user of that weapon."

"What are you implying?" Adea questioned firmly, her pulse thudding rapidly as she tried to steel her gaze, "Who the hell are you?"

"A simple observation based on your searches, Lieutenant," the man commented, his deep tone slowing as his watched her steadily, "Though I would take care if I were you. Not everyone might draw the same innocent conclusions."

"Was that a threat?" Adea breathed.

"I do hope you find what you're looking for, Lieutenant," the man concluded coldly, an unpleasant smirk curling the edges of his mouth as he squared his shoulders.

Adea glanced back at the Archive screen, a cold uneasy weight building in the pit of her stomach as she trailed through the list of weapon's approvals. It had to be a coincidence. _But an entire year's reports registered to a single number who was all but a ghost in the system?_

"What the hell does that mean?" Adea replied suddenly, glancing up to meet the now vacant space beside her.

She turned sharply, glancing over her shoulder as she scanned the desks around her, struggling to find the man amongst the handful of nearby officers. She startled as her phone vibrated suddenly, clattering loudly against her desk. She scanned the room once more to no avail, raising the phone to her ear.

"A, are we still meeting for lunch?" Carol asked cheerily, "Christine and I are waiting outside the Archive."

"Yeah," Adea exhaled shakily, frowning as she glanced back at the screen, "I was just...finishing up."

"Everything ok?" Carol asked, "You sound stressed."

"I'm...fine," Adea sighed slowly, eyeing the screen, "I'll be there in two, ok?"

"Holding you to that," Carol sighed

Adea turned back to her screen, hesitating for a moment as she began typing again.

_Weapon Clearance Report, date range: January 2259, forward_

She knew it was barely a week into the new year, but she couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that-

_1 search result. _

Adea stared back at the screen, her mouth falling open slightly as she clicked on the report.

_Long-range Torpedo _

_Class: Photon_

_Model: _MC-9321

_Issue date: _Classified

_Issue Location: _Classified

_Propellant: _Classified

_Weapon Specifications: _Classified

She scrolled down the page slowly, her heart sinking into her stomach as she read the final line of the report, her breath catching in her throat.

_Report Issuer (USER ID): 97100731._

_What the h-_

Adea startled as her phone rang again, Carol's name illuminating on the screen as it vibrated against the desk. She exhaled shakily, pulling her hair into ponytail at the based of her neck. She placed her PADD in her purse as the phone continued to ring, shooting a final gaze at the report before she shutdown the screen, struggling to fully shake the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach as she left the Archive.

* * *

**Main Hall, Starfleet Academy, London Campus**

* * *

Adea tapped her fingers nervously against the cool crystal of her glass, her eyes glued to the bows of the string ensemble as they weaved back and forth. It wasn't her first gala. _Hell, far from it. _She'd been dragged to more galas by her mother than she cared to remember. It was always the same. _Nothing new. Make small talk. Eat, but not too much. Drink, but nothing dark, less it would run the risk of staining her dress. Remember names. Make connections. Stand up straight, slouching was unflattering._ The routine was so practiced she barely had to think about it.

_But then why was she so on edge? _

She glanced across the room at McCoy, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards as she watched him. _That suit… _For someone who hated schmoozing he certainly looked the part, nodding enthusiastically as Nick continued on. _Why did Theo have to leave early? _That guy was starting to grow on her. Adea exhaled slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turned her attention back to the musicians in a poor attempt to ease her racing mind.

_Who was that man? _She had assumed he worked for the Archive, but the more her mind dwelled on it, the more uneasy she felt. _Not everyone might draw the same innocent conclusions. _His words reverberated through her head without end. _But what did he mean? _The reports she had found were certainly interesting, but what searching for it have to do with her? It was an accessible Federation database. _What wasn't innocent about that? _

Adea frowned, biting the tip of her thumb as the musicians' tune came to an end, a short pause filling the room before they started into another jazzy piece. _Did her mother have something to do with this? _Adea wouldn't put it past her. _Is that how he knew her? _It seemed unlikely they would have met before. S_he would have remembered that unsettling pale gaze..._

"You're quiet tonight, A," Carol commented, coming to a stop besides Adea.

"A lot on my mind," Adea sighed, taking a large sip from the crystal flute in her hand as she eyed the room.

"Is this about McCoy still?" Carol mused tersely, "Because I swear, Adea Ele, if we have to start this again-"

"No," Adea huffed, her scowl easing slightly as she glanced across the room, smiling as her eyes briefly meeting McCoy's, "It's not about Lee."

"Then what is it, Adi?" Carol pressed, eyeing the red off-the-shoulder dress Adea now wore, "You used to beg to to borrow that dress and when you saw it today, you barely blinked."

"It's nothing," Adea frowned, crossing her arms, "Just weird people getting into my head."

"About McCoy?" Carol asked.

"No! Not him," Adea huffed, exhaling steadily, "For once, things with him are just...perfect."

"Alright then, what gives, A?" Carol sighed.

"Have you heard anything about a new long-range photon torpedo?" Adea asked slowly, "Model MC-9321. It would have been issued either at the end of last year or start of this year."

"MC-9321?" Carol repeated slowly, shaking her head, "I've never heard of it, A. But why the hell are you worried about a torpedo right now?"

"The user, the one ending with -731," Adea continued, "They registered every Klingon weapon in the Starfleet archive last year and this year, they've already signed off on a weapons clearance report, the one for the torpedo. I can't find the user anywhere in the system."

"Are you sure you checked?" Carol shrugged.

"Yes," Adea replied quickly.

"And the number's the same?" Carol questioned.

"Of course, you think I wouldn't check that?" Adea huffed.

"Fine, fine," Carol sighed, "Give me the reference and I'll look it up tomorrow. But only on the condition, you don't spend the rest of your time in London in a pissy mood because someone did something stupid with the Archive."

"Carol, I'm serious-"

"I am too," Carol sighed, a unpleasant frown flashing on her face as she glanced towards Adea, "Besides, I think you may have bigger problems in a moment."

"Bigger problems?" Adea frowned, "Carol, what are you-"

"Blast from the past," Carol answered quickly, gesturing towards the bar, "Want a drink? Let's get a drink."

"Carol, wha-"

"Adea Ele," a low voice observed, delight dripping its owner's sappy tone.

Adea turned slowly, regretting the action the moment she'd spied the self-righteous smirk.

"Hugo Werner," Adea observed reluctantly.

"My, my, my," her former lab partner tutted, reaching forward suddenly to brush her arm, "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes. God, I have seen you since the-

"Adair Fellowship," Adea stated dryly, promptly shrugging off his hand.

"I'm Carol," her blonde friend interjected cheerily, extending a hand in Hugo's direction as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Charmed," Hugo sighed half-heartedly, Carol's distraction failing as he turned his attention back to Adea, "So I hear you're moving up in the world. Recently assigned to the Enterprise?"

"Yes," Adea huffed, exchanging a look with Carol, "Glad we've established this. Good to see you again, Hugo."

"So what brings you to Medical Gala?" Hugo mused, "I hardly remember you being interested in medicine. You never really seem suited for it, but I will say, the science blue is a striking color on you. Never quite left my mind."

"Adea, did you want to get a refill?" Carol offered quickly.

"Well, that's a bit rude isn't?" Hugo chided, "Right in the middle of a conversation? First time at a Starfleet gala, I take it?"

"I'm a weapons specialist aboard the USS Enterprise," Carol quipped dryly, exchanging a glance with Adea.

"Wow. Who would have guessed that?" Hugo tutted, raising an eyebrow in impressed surprise, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I think I may actually need a refill though," Adea exhaled loudly, stepping away from Hugo as he stepped towards her again.

"Adea, I will say, though, that dress is something," Hugo whistled, his eyes uncomfortably wandering the length of the dress.

"You would think I did more in two years than wear a dress," Adea replied tersely, glancing quickly over her shoulder as she felt a hand against the small of her back, relief fanning through her as she met McCoy's green eyes.

"Oh perfect! Dr. McCoy!" Carol greeted, flashing him a relieved smirk, "I was just looking for-"

"Dr. McCoy," Hugo interjected, turning as he thrust his hand out towards McCoy, "Sir, it's an honor. I'm a junior medical officer aboard the USS Constitution. I've followed your career since you were promoted on the Enterprise. Your medical logs have been a lifesaver!"

"Pleasure to meet you," McCoy drawled slowly, glancing between Carol's scowl and Adea's frown, "You are?"

"Hugo Werner," the man offered emphatically, nudging Adea's arm with his elbow as he laughed loudly, "Used to supervise this one on the USS Constitution. Never quite understood how reporting hierarchy worked but women, huh? What can you do?

"Henry, was it?" McCoy replied after a pause, an amused spark flickering in his eyes as he exchanged a glance with Adea.

"Hugo," he repeated slowly, gazing towards Adea, "I mean, I'm sure she's mentioned me."

"Funny. My girlfriend never mentioned you," McCoy mused genuinely, suppressing the amusement in his tone as he raised an eyebrow at Hugo, "Must be all that high-level diplomacy work on the Enterprise."

He ignored Hugo's bemused frown, glancing towards Adea as Carol suppressed a laugh. Adea shook her head subtlety, her cheeks shading pink as she bit her lip to hide her smirk.

"Would you two like a drink?" McCoy offered, gesturing towards Nick at the bar across the room.

"I thought you'd never ask," Carol replied sweetly.

"Good to meet you, Harry," McCoy replied, patting him on the shoulder as the trio made their way across the room, "God, you had to put up with _that_ during your Fellowship?"

"You're terrible, Lee," Adea sighed, shaking her head slowly as they edged across the room.

"I mean, did you see his hair?" McCoy pressed, "Poor kid probably keeps the Federation's hair gel industry in business."

"A real charmer," Carol snorted.

"The both of you are terrible," Adea sighed, smiling at Nick as the nearly reached the bar.

Adea glanced up at McCoy as he stopped suddenly, his mischievous grin returning as he caught her hand, pulling her gently to face him.

"Do you mind if I steal her for a moment?" he asked Carol, his hands finding Adea's waist as he pulled him closer to him.

"Have fun you two," Carol smirked, winking at Adea as turned to join Nick at the bar.

"What are you up to, Lee?" Adea mused, raising an eyebrow at him.

"There's a live band, and while I still can't get that gold dress out of my head, I do have to say this one is a close second," McCoy drawled, smirking as his fingers brushed the gold pendant around her neck.

"You actually _want_ to dance?" Adea smirked.

"Thought you'd never ask," McCoy drawled, leading her towards the dancefloor.

"You may have magically turned into a dancer overnight but I assure you I have not," Adea laughed as he caught her waist, his left hand holding her right as he started swaying back and forth.

"Please," McCoy sighed, smirking down at her, "It's like walking."

"Where the hell did even you learn how to dance?" Adea mused, flashing him a warning glance as he spun her slowly.

"My sister wanted to do Cotillion, but she was to scared to join by herself," McCoy sighed, "Yours truly was dragged along."

"You were a debutante?" Adea smirked.

"_She _was a debutante," McCoy clarified, shaking his head at her, "I'm surprised you weren't with you over-performing childhood."

"Mm, definitely not," Adea sighed, flashing McCoy a coy relieved smirk as song faded to an end, "Well, would you look at that? I guess we'll have to go join Nick and Carol."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," McCoy replied quickly as the musician launched into a new song, a broad grin flashing on his face as recognition flickered, "You can't possibly leave to this song."

"What song?" Adea replied earnestly, glancing towards the orchestra as the early rifts of the violins faded, the piano starting in as the jazzy vocals began wafting over the dance floor.

"What song?" McCoy repeated, raising his eyebrows in shock, "You're dating a man from Georgia and you don't know Georgia on My Mind?"

"No?" Adea replied sheepishly.

"Oh now, we'll have to change that," McCoy smirked innocently, spinning her out slowly as turned her again, catching her waist as he pulled her towards him again.

"You're going to make me dizzy," Adea warned.

"Well that dress is making me dizzy, so I'd called it even, Sweetheart," McCoy drawled, humming along to the tune as Adea rested cheek against his chest.

"What's it about?" Adea sighed.

"It's about something so beautiful, you can't get her out of your head or your dreams not matter how hard you try," McCoy replied softly, kissing the top of her head, "See? _Still in peaceful dreams, I see, all the roads lead back you._"

"I thought you said this song was about a state?" Adea asked slowly, blushing slightly as she looked up, catching sight of the look in his eyes.

"That too," McCoy smirked innocently.

"Do you use that line often, Dr. McCoy?" Adea mused.

"Only for the pretty ones," McCoy quipped.

"You're terrible," Adea smirked, shaking her head as she leaned forward slowly, her lips brushing his as she kissed him softly, the room around them floating away slowly as the jazzy tune softly played on.

* * *

**Kelvin Memorial Archive, London, UK**

* * *

_No peace I find. Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind._

Adea hummed along with the melody as she entered the Archive, removing her earbuds as she scanned her ID. It hadn't been more than a few hours before she'd realized she left her phone. She hated losing her stuff, but at least a quick call from Carol's phone had confirmed the Archive had indeed found it.

_S_he glanced at her watch as she paced into the elevator, pressing the number for the research floor. She had fifteen minutes before she'd promised to meet McCoy. _Fifteen minutes to find her phone. _That was it. It was McCoy's last day in London. _And for once, researching could wait. _Besides, Carol would kill her for any minute longer over fifteen she stayed in Archive.

She walked through the door to the front desk as it buzzed open, smiling as the white haired woman at the desk smiled broadly at her.

"I'm surprised your phone was the only thing you lost," the woman smirked, handing over the silver phone as she raised an amused eyebrow at Adea, "You all but lived here over the holidays, Lieutenant."

"I try to be more organized than that, Ma'am," Adea shrugged sheepishly.

"I hope you try to have some fun too," the woman smirked, "It's called an archive cause our records are old, boring, and are always going to be here. But that sunshine we're supposed to have today won't!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Ma'am," Adea smirked, reaching for her ID as she scanned it to leave.

"You'd better," the woman tutted.

Adea shook her head slowly, her smirk fading to an annoyed frowned as she swiped her card, the light flashing red. She waved it again, scanning it a third time as the beacon flashed red again.

"Ma'am, there's something-"

"Don't worry about it, Dear," the woman sighed, waving her hand dismissively at the door, "That thing is tempermental."

Adea smiled gratefully, returning her ID to her pocket as she glanced at her phone. _54%. Not bad. _She swiped open the screen as she headed for the elevator, opening her texts to her conversation with McCoy.

**Adea (8:09): **Got it. On my way now!

She tapped the button for the ground floor as she fished her earbuds out of her pocket, the elevator humming as it lifted slowly. She smirked as she restarted the song, her fingers absently going to the golden pendant around her neck as the violins wafted in slowly. Her head bobbed slowly to the melody, her fingers absently drumming with the piano as the elevator dinged.

She'd barely stepped into the lobby as a man rushed forward, his shoulder clipping Adea's shoulder as he hurried into the elevator. She frowned as her earbud clattered to the ground, turning to glare up at the man as she bent to retrieve it.

"Watch where you're going," Adea huffed, rubbing her shoulder as she stood up slowly.

"I'm sorry," the man muttered quickly, an earnest tone to his voice as his timid eyes briefly flickered up at her.

She rolled her eyes as the elevator doors shut, replacing her earbud as she crossed the lobby. Her smirk returned as she turned the melody louder, humming softly to herself as she glanced at her messages.

**Lee (8:15): **And I thought the Paris metro was bad. Running late, Sweetheart. I'll be there in 20.

Adea snorted quietly to herself as she shook her head, glancing at the time as she reread his message. _20 minutes was long enough for a coffee run… _She crossed the street quickly, restarting the song as she headed towards the intersection.

_What was this man doing to her? _She couldn't the remember the last time a song reminded her of someone, let alone the last time she'd played it on loop.

"_Still peaceful dreams I see,_" she sang quietly to herself, pausing to lean against the building as she felt her sock slipping down in her boot again, "_The road leads back to you."_

She unzipped the side of her boot, nearly succeeding in fixing her sock as the building jolted suddenly. She stumbled forward sharply, Ray Charles' baritone wavering as the ground beneath her shook. She stared glanced down the road as the pedestrians froze, staring at each other a loud rumble echoed through the street. She clambered to her feet as another rumble sounded, this time louder as the glass panes of the Archive shook. She backed away slowly as a third crash burst through the street, followed by a fourth, this time closer.

_Georgia, yeah, Georgia. _

The sharp ring of shattering glass has barely rung out as the ground should harder, the sidewalk beneath her feet cracking as the people besides her began to run. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled backwards, her feet tripping over each other as she turned sharply. She barely made it to the next block as the street flashed white, the panic of the street falling silent as the roar of the explosion ripped through the streets. She stared back in horrified awe at the Archive, her eyes growing wide as the fireball engulfed the brick of the building.

For a moment, it seemed like a film, the images flashing quickly before her eyes. _R__unning. Screaming. Glass breaking. The heat. The noise. London. Carol. The melody. Nyota. _

_Lee. _

And then everything went black…the damage circuits of the earbuds contorting the final words of the melody as it flickered into silence.


	16. Chaos

**11:28**

* * *

It was funny how quickly life could change in the span of a few minutes, twisting the meaning of the simplest things until you could barely remember what they meant before.

_The slow ticking of a clock each time the second hand pulsed. The shrill ring of a phone as it clattered against the counter. The muted shuffle of footsteps behind a door. _

She'd known it was bad the moment she'd spied the dark smoke billowing over the skyline, glass tinkling as the apartment shook, but nothing compared to the slow torture of the waiting that followed. Carol's eyes snapped to her phone as it buzzed suddenly, swearing loudly as she read the routine update notification.

"What is it?" Nick replied quickly, sitting up attentively from his place on the apartment's sofa.

"Goddamned notification," Carol huffed, glancing up at him slowly, "Did you hear anything from McCoy?"

"Not more than before," Nick sighed slowly, "The Archive's shut off except for emergency personnel, but it's been an hour since the scanners reported any signs of life from the wreckage. All other casualties are being sent to the Royal London Hospital. He's not kin but since he's the CMO of the Enterprise, he'll be notified if any crew members are brought in or found at the Archive."

"All active duty officers have to report back to Starfleet headquarters by tomorrow morning and it's been hours already," Carol replied quickly, standing abruptly as she began pacing back and forth, "What if it takes too long? What if they can't find her?"

"They'll find her, Car," Nick reassured, standing slowly as Carol paced away from him.

"But what if they don't?" Carol snapped, her eyes glancing out the apartment window towards the fading column of smoke in the city center, "She wanted to pick up her phone yesterday, but we told her to wait. She was there this morning, Nick. She wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me."

"Car-"

"What if she was right?" Carol mumbled abruptly, breathing heavily as she marched across the room, snatching her PADD off the table.

"Carol, what are you-" Nick started, falling silent as Carol waved him off.

"The Archive," Carol started, pacing back and forth across the living room, "Adea said there was something weird going on at the Archive. There was a report that said a Klingon rifle had been sweeped for trackers, but the report was wrong and it almost got her killed. She's spent her entire time in London digging through the Archive trying to find the person who wrote the report, but yesterday she said something was off. The user couldn't be found. Everything else they were doing was classified. Something about a weird person bothering her. What if this wasn't an accident? What if she was onto something?"

"Onto what?" Nick asked.

"C'mon, Nick, it can't be a coincidence!" Carol pressed, "Adea finds something weird at the Archive and less than a day later, someone blows the damn thing up to kingdom come? Why else would someone blow up a facility filled with dusty old books and hard drives?"

"Carol, I know it's difficult right now waiting for news about Adea-"

"This is not about news!" Carol snapped backed, "I thought it was insane too, but look where we are! What if she was right?"

"Car-"

"What if she was?" Carol huffed, fixing Nick with an unyielding glare.

"If half of what you're implying is true, then you're going to need a lot more than conjecture and Adea's observations, Car," Nick started quietly.

"It's not conjecture!" Carol countered, flicking through her messages, "Adea sent me the user ID and a photo of the report."

"That's not my point, Car," Nick replied hastily, bracing Carol's shoulders gently, "I'm saying if whatever Adea found had something to do with the Archive attack today, you need to be careful. Whoever or whatever you're dealing with had no problem turning central London into a vaporized hole in the ground. Do you think they'll have any problem going after a single Starfleet officer looking into this?"

"I know, I just-" Carol started, exhaling loudly as she squared her shoulders, "McCoy will find her. We all go back to San Francisco. My father can clear up what's going on with the missiles. Starfleet will catch who did this. And then it's handled. No one gets hurt. Everything will just go back normal."

"Of course," Nick reassured hesitantly, scratching the back of his head as Carol breezed past him.

"Good," Carol huffed, turning abruptly as she crossed the living room towards the kitchen, flicking on the electric kettle, "Because I don't know what I'll do if she's gone."

"Adea's a tough little thing," Nick sighed, following Carol into the kitchen, "Besides, we have our best out looking for her. They'll find her."

"They'd better," Carol sighed, resting her head on Nick's shoulder as she stared out of the kitchen window towards the city, her focus on the flashing of the sirens below blurring as a reluctant tear trailed down her face.

* * *

**_12:46_**

* * *

_Death wasn't new to him. _

Hell, it was part of his job. Preventing it. Making it easier. Keeping it away as long as possible. _Sure_, he'd seen people die. _But there was always something distant about it. _It was a job. It was natural. It was the vital results displayed across a screen. _Sure, it was not always this easy._ The first time someone had died during residency, it'd felt as if it'd been his own mother. _Maria. 65 years old. Congenital heart disease. Heart Attack. _There was nothing they could do, but read results from the scanner and record the time of death. _He'd almost quit that day. _But that was perhaps why he'd chosen medicine. _So one less person would have to feel that way someday. _So he'd learned to process it. Moving away from the patients to the machines that whirred quietly in the background to save their lives. _It seemed to make all the difference. _

That, and his quippy fellow resident of a friend who never seemed to break a sweat. _Or give up on him. _

He'd barely rolled out of bed before he'd gotten the notification about the attack in London, a phone call following shortly thereafter. _It seemed the advanced sensor on the EV scanner he'd developed was the only one powerful enough to scan through several meters of rubble without irradiating bystanders. _The phone call faded into the distance as grabbed his things, placing the call on speaker as he'd tried to contact his friends. He'd nearly made it to London when his phone finally rang, the faintest pang of relief fading the moment he'd heard his friend's ever steady drawl, nearly unrecognizable with the panic that laced through it.

_Learned steadiness be damned. A few seconds of that nervous tone was nearly enough to break his own heart. _

_Besides, that girl had started to grow on him. _

Théo had spent the morning scanning through the rubble, wondering what was worse, the seconds ticking by without news about Adea or the seconds ticking closer to finding her hurt. _Or worse._ But if there was anything Théo could do well it was build machines. And if anyone else was under that rubble, the scanner would find them. _Théo was sure of it. _And if Len hadn't heard anything at the hospital, maybe there was a chance….

_Chance. Hope. _If he was musing about hope, surely he was losing it. He exhaled the smoke of his cigarette through his teeth, shaking his head slowly as he ran his hands over his face. _He needed a break. _Longer than the two minutes he'd taken to get to whatever tiny plaza he was at now.

_Fuck, _he was definitely losing it. _Now he could hear her…._

"Théo?" the voice repeated, this time closer.

He glanced up slowly, blinking as he turned over his shoulder towards the voice, his cigarette falling to the ground as relieved recognition flickered in the hazel eyes that met his.

"_Nom de dieu_," Théo mumbled quickly, stumbling back slightly as she rushed forward, hugging him tightly, "You're fucking alive, Adea!"

He stepped back slowly, his eyes trailing from small cut on her ash-smudged cheek to the grey dust coating the black jacket.

"How did-" Théo started, trailing off as he eyed her in shock, "Holy shit, you're alive! Adea, are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to you?"

"Lee," Adea interrupted quickly, her dark eyes growing wide, "He wanted to meet me at the Archive. Is he-"

"He's alive. He's ok," Théo stated faintly, staring back at her incredulously, "His train was delayed. He didn't arrive until after ze attack. But you. How are you alive? It's been hours."

"I got knocked backwards into an alleyway when the building exploded," Adea replied quietly, "I missed the fireball and the debris, but something falling crushed my bag. It had my phone, my PADD…. A woman saw me and invited me inside. I didn't know how to get back to the apartment. I've been trying to get McCoy or Carol's number, but Starfleet communication lines were all busy. And I just had a civilian line. I-"

"You don't know zeir phone numbers?" Théo mused.

"I-Nevermind," Adea frowned, "Lee gives me enough shit about not knowing numbers as it is. Do you have your phone?"

"Of course," Théo replied, fumbling quickly for the black device in his coat pocket, noting Adea's wince as she reached forward to take it, "But are okay? Have you been to ze hospital? Or ze checkpoint at the Archive site? I can bring you now?"

"No," Adea replied quickly, her eyes flickering warily towards the sirens sounding in the distance,"I'm fine."

"_Mon oeil_," Théo retorted, "An explosion nearly took you out."

"It's a few scratches," Adea huffed dismissively.

"Why don't I believe you, _Cherie_?" Théo mused, raising a doubtful eyebrow.

"I'm fine," Adea stated, steadying her breath, "I promise. A few scrapes and bruises from getting knocked backwards, but I'll live. Your phone...please?"

"Fine," Théo gave in slowly, eyeing her dubiously as he offered her his phone, "But you should know if you're lying, and I didn't drag your ass to ze hospital, I won't hear ze end of it from Len and you won't hear ze end of it from me, hmm?

"_Je te jure_," Adea promised, her fingers tapping quickly over the screen as she found the contact.

She exhaled steadily as the phone began to ring, her pulse racing. She swallowed dryly as the ring droned on, the fingers of her free hand drumming quickly against her thigh. _Maybe he was unava-_

"Bout time, Théo," the southern doctor's voice huffed, "Best hospital in England my ass. No one knows what's going on. Damn near forgot what type of organizational nightmare civilian hospital's are. Someone walked by about ten minutes ago saying they hadn't found anyone else dead or alive at the attack site. What's going on there? Have y'all heard anything else?"

Adea closed her eyes, the relief of hearing his voice again threatening to overtake her composure. She inhaled shakily as her vision blurred slightly, a small smirk tugging up at the edges of her mouth.

"God damn it, Théo," McCoy grumbled hastily, "You can't call at a time like this a remain silent on the damn line. You'll give a man a damned heart attack, just sitting there on the end of the line like a-"

"Lee," Adea breathed softly, exhaling shakily as the line fell quiet.

There was a pause as McCoy sighed loudly, mumbling under breath as he exhaled.

"Adi?" McCoy breathed, the line falling silent again,"Oh thank God. Adi, where are you? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Adea replied quickly, "I got knocked into an alleyway. I missed the blast and the debris, but I lost my phone. A few scrapes, but I'll live."

"Where are you exactly?" McCoy pressed, "Are you by the hospital?"

"No. Cochrane...Plaza?" Adea read slowly, squinting as she stared at the sign, "It's near the Archive. Where are you?"

"Wait there, Adi," McCoy stated, his voice trailing off as the background noises grew louder.

"Lee, where are-"

Adea frowned as the line beeped, searching to reconnect the signal.

"Lee?" Adea repeated, huffing as the line continued to beep.

"What happened?" Théo asked, fishing in his pocket for a cigarette.

"Call is reconnecting," Adea sighed, turning the phone on speaker as it continued to beep, "Do they know what happened to the Archive?"

"Beyond zat it got blasted sky high zis morning?" Théo mused, "_Non. _Not much more. Currently forty dead. Over two hundred wounded. Zey still don't know who did it or why, except zat ze bomb would have taken out several blocks if it had been above ground. But who ze hell bombs an Archive?"

"It's not just an Archive," Adea answered slowly, glancing back at the phone, "Something else was going on there. They were creating weapons reports. Something to do with base code 731, but there isn't a base code 731."

"731?" Théo repeated, raising an eyebrow slowly as recognition dawned, "Now zat makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Adea frowned, "You've heard of 731?"

"Of course," Théo shrugged, taking a long drag as he exhaled the smoke through his nose, "Section 31. Intelligence and Defense. Sometimes zeir work overlaps with medical R&D, so we hear from zem from time to time. Never knew where it was exactly, but if it was in ze Archive building, everything makes a lot more sense, _non?_"

"Section 31?" Adea repeated.

"You've never heard of it?" Théo mused, "Isn't your mother running Starfleet or something? I zought you would have at least heard something?"

"Nothing at all," Adea replied slowly, the steely gaze from the man at the Archive flashing into her mind as the other end of the phone line crackled back in.

"Adi? You there?" McCoy huffed, the background noises behind him growing louder.

"I'm here," Adea answered, scrunching her nose as a loud screech echoed through the phone, "Lee, where are you?"

"Don't mind that," McCoy huffed, "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yes," Adea sighed.

"Mhmm," McCoy grumbled, "Are you just saying that or did you receive a proper medical exam?"

"I'm fine, Lee," Adea promised, "I swear."

"Well forgive me if I don't trust your judgment," McCoy huffed loudly, "Lord knows what I might find when I get there. Broken bones. Lacerations. Internal Hemorrhaging…"

Adea shook her head slowly, smiling as McCoy rattled on.

_Who knew there'd come a day when McCoy's medical rants would make her day._

"What's going on with the Enterprise?" Adea asked slowly, "My last assignment to the Enterprise was temporary. I mean, I assumed I would get permanent posting, but... Have you heard anything from Kirk? Do you know anything?"

"Since the reassignment?" McCoy replied.

"Reassignment?" Adea repeated, frowning slowly, "What are you talking about? What reassignment?"

"It just happened this morning," McCoy sighed after a pause, a quiet reluctance in his tone.

"This morning?" Adea repeated slowly as she frowned, "What happened this morning? Lee-"

"One second, Adi," McCoy stated, his voice trailing off.

"Lee!"

She glanced down at the phone as the call ended, exhaling loudly through her teeth.

"All ok, _Cherie_?" Théo sighed, raising an eyebrow at Adea.

"He hung up" Adea sighed, crossing her arms, "And something about a reassignment?"

"Don't ask me," Théo shrugged defensively.

"Why would he say that?" Adea muttered half to herself, frowning as she caught sight of Théo's growing grin, "What? What's that look for?"

"Dunno," Théo smirked, flicking the ashes from his cigarette onto the ground, "You keep asking me all ze questions. Why don't you just ask Len yourself, hmm?"

"He hung up," Adea reminded tiredly.

"Who's says by phone?" Théo mused, nodding behind her, "Besides, in person is probably faster, _non_?"

Adea raised a confused eyebrow at Théo, glancing slowly over her shoulder as caught sight of McCoy, her hands clapped over her mouth. She stared back in shock wonder as he rushed towards he, barely uttering his name before his lips met hers, his hands wrapping around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Goddamnit, Adi," McCoy exhaled, breaking the kiss slowly as he pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head, "I thought you died."

"Lee, how did you-"

"The hospital team had a transport to beam personnel to and from Archive site," McCoy stated slowly, "I've been waiting by it all morning waiting for you to turn up somewhere. What the hell happened to you?"

"I've been trying to get in touch with you all morning," Adea replied softly, "I left to get coffee before you got there, so I was a couple of blocks away from the Archive when it exploded. I lost my phone and my bag, but a woman across the street let me stay at her apartment until we heard it was safe. I was there until I saw someone that looked like Théo from the window. It was a fat chance in hell but turns out, it _was_ Théo."

"Well maybe that coffee addiction finally did you some good," McCoy smirked reluctantly, his thumb brushing her cheek as he kissed her once more, stepping back slowly as his dark green eyes scanned her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Adea sighed, exhaling steadily as she met McCoy's wary look, "Few scrapes and bruises, but I'll live, Doctor."

"Yeah, we'll see about that. You seem to be in one piece. All of your fingers. Not comatose. But that doesn't discount internal injuries," McCoy huffed, his unimpressed scowl fading slowly as he glanced over Adea's shoulder towards Théo, "Thank you, Théo."

"_Aucun souci,_" Théo nodded slowly.

"Now let's get you back to the apartment," McCoy continued, eyeing her again, "Even if you look fine, you still need a proper medical exam. I have some medical stuff there, but it's probably best to get back to San Francisco first. I don't trust the damn doctors at that hospital here. You shoulda seen it. Running around like a bunch of chickens with their damn heads cut off-"

"Lee, what did you mean about a reassignment?" Adea asked, her stomach growing uneasy as she met McCoy's uncomfortable gaze.

"Adi, I don't know how to tell you," McCoy started slowly.

"What's wrong?" Adea pressed, her pulse quickening as she crossed her arms, "Was I reassigned?"

"Adi, Jim's not the Captain of the Enterprise anymore," McCoy stated, exhaling slowly,"He's not the captain of any ship anymore."

"What?" Adea stuttered, her eyes wide as her breath caught in her throat, "What do you mean he's not the captain of any ship anymore?"

"They're sending him back to the Academy for violating the prime directive during the Nibiru mission," McCoy concluded quietly.

"What?" Adea stuttered, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as her shock faded from confusion to guilt, "No that can't be. I read the captain's log. He said there was no contact. How on Earth did-"

"Well turns out that pointy-eared bastard your sister's so fond of didn't write the same thing in his report," McCoy huffed.

"Spock?" Adea blinked, staring back at McCoy, "What? Why would he do that?"

"Hell if I know," McCoy grumbled, eyeing Adea as her pacing grew more frustrated, "But right now-"

"Spock would be dead if it wasn't for that mission," Adea continued angrily, huffing loudly as she crossed her arms, "Kirk saved his goddamn life. Why the fuck would he do that?!"

"'Cause he's a self-righteous ass, Adi," McCoy sighed tiredly, glancing over his shoulders as a siren sounded, "Adi, we need-"

"I swear to God the moment I see him I will-"

"You and just about everyone else on the Enterprise," McCoy huffed, "But we have to get a move on. Now. We have to report to San Francisco by tomorrow morning."

"That two-faced motherf-"

McCoy pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling as Adea let out a string of curses under her breath. He turned back towards Théo, raising an eyebrow as the frenchman smirked, shaking his head.

"You gonna be okay, Théo?" McCoy asked.

"I'm always okay," Théo smirked, nodding across the square, "Besides, I have get back to ze site soon, before some idiot breaks my tech. Take care of yourself, _hein?_"

"I'll try my best," McCoy sighed, eyeing Adea as she exhaled slowly, crossing her arms as her pacing came to stop.

"And you, ACDC Dancer," Théo smirked, a playful warning in his tone as he nudged Adea, "Keep yourself in one piece. Can't have zis one here falling apart again because something's happened to you, okay?"

"Will do," Adea sighed, pausing her tirade as she exhaled slowly through her nose, "Thank you, Théo."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now go save ze world," Théo concluded, shooing them as he walked back towards the Archive, "Or whatever it is you people do up zere on your starships."

Adea exhaled slowly as Théo disappeared around the corner, huffing slowly as she turned back McCoy.

"What now?" Adea sighed, crossing her arms.

"The Enterprise was returned to Pike, and as far as I know, you're still assigned to it," McCoy sighed, "But we can figure all that out later at the apartment. Besides, Carol's worried sick about you. You may want to call her before we get back, before you give her a heart attack walking through the door. I think we've all had enough chaos for one day, wouldn't you agree?"

"Chaos doesn't even begin to cover it," Adea huffed, glancing over her shoulder towards the Archive sight, unable to escape the growing pang of uneasiness building in her stomach.

* * *

**23:19**

* * *

McCoy huffed loudly as the jet bounced gently, crossing his arms as he glared out the window. He'd agreed to letting Carol arrange other transport that the Starfleet shuttle when she'd promised it be more comfortable and less stressful... _But this..._

"You'd think they could transfer us on something faster," McCoy grumbled, crossing his arms as he glanced warily out the ship window, "Starfleet can beam someone halfway across a planet, but can't develop anything faster than a metal death trap that gets us to San Francisco in six hours."

"It was this or an overly crowded Starfleet shuttle," Carol sighed, leaning back against her seat, "At least here we might get some form of sleep."

"Sleep my ass," McCoy huffed, glaring out the window.

"C'mon now, Doctor," Scotty piped, propping his feet up on the seat as he nudged Keenser, "When the last time you took an actual private jet? Always shuttles with Starfleet. I like it! It's like a movie."

"Or an accident waiting to happen," McCoy grumbled, looking up attentively as Adea returned from the back of the jet, "How are you feeling, Adi?"

"Tired," Adea grumbled, plopping down besides McCoy as she rested her head against McCoy's shoulder.

"Just tired or headache?" McCoy huffed, shifting uncomfortably under her cheek,"Sure, you didn't hit your head when you fell?"

"No, just my side when the debris knocked me back," Adea muttered.

"You hit your side?" McCoy repeated, glancing down at her quickly as his scowl returned.

"No," Adea sighed, frowning as his shoulder slipped from under her cheek as McCoy stood slowly, "I mean, kindof. Where are you going?"

"This rickety metal box should have a corporeal scanner somewhere," McCoy huffed, crossing the cabin as he disappeared around the corner.

Adea groaned loudly, exhaling through her nose as she rubbed her hands over her face.

"How 'bout it, A? Once a doctor, always a doctor," Carol smirked.

"Shut it," Adea grumbled, crossing her arms as she pressed her thumbs into her temples, leaning back against the headrest.

"So was this a drunken New Year's thing, or a thing thing?" Scotty mused loudly, "You and the doctor?"

"Um,"Adea started slowly, her cheeks flaring red as Carol snorted into her water glass, "I-"

"I mean, I'm happy for you," Scotty pressed on, oblivious as Adea flashed a shade of deep scarlet, "Just surprised. I mean, Kirk maybe. Or Chekov. Whatever happened to that girl in Fort Baker? Dock Girl, or whatever Kirk and Sulu are always rattling on about? I mean, didn't he like your sister at some point?"

"And I think there are more pressing matters at hand," Carol spoke up quickly, standing abruptly as she crossed the jet to sit besides Adea, "Did you remember anything else about the missiles?"

"Missiles?" Scotty questioned, "Does that have something to do with this?"

"No, the Archive," Adea sighed quickly, her uncomfortable frown easing slightly as she eagerly switched subjects, "Just what I told you at the apartment. Someone from Section 31 logged every Klingon weapon clearance last year, including the one that said my rifle was clear when it obviously wasn't. District 31 is apparently top secret defense and intelligence division of Starfleet, that none of us have ever heard of, except Théo, by some miracle. It just seemed bad reporting, until a man approached me in the Archive. He said something about the search history being monitored and not everyone seeing my interest as innocent. He knew who I was. Or at least who my mother was."

"Wait, you've met him before?" Carol asked.

"No," Adea replied slowly, wracking her thoughts as his cold gaze floated back to her, "I would have remembered him. He was striking. At least as tall as McCoy. Pale. Jet black hair. Built. It was his eyes though. He had really piercing eyes. It was...unsettling."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, lass," Scotty huffed, "So some creep know who you are, makes a veiled threat 'cause you looked at a report about missiles, from a secret Starfleet department that may or may not exist, then a day later, the whole thing blows up?"

"Something like that," Adea sighed.

"Did he have a name?" Carol pressed on.

"He never said one and I don't recall having one on his uniform," Adea replied slowly.

"Wait, hang on, how'd he know you mother?" Scotty asked, "I mean, I'm sure she's lovely whoever she is, but why would he care?"

"My mother's a fleet admiral," Adea answered reluctantly, crossing her arms, "He knew I was her daughter."

"A fleet admiral?" Scotty repeated, blinking back her, "Your mother's one of the six fleet admirals? Wait, there's only two women. Which one is she?"

"It doesn't matter," Adea frowned, "Growing up, she didn't want anyone to use or coerce us to get to her. Nyota and I barely mention it. She uses her mother's family name, so only handful of people make the connection. Why would he know something barely anyone in Starfleet knows? And more importantly, if he knew, why would he care?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Scotty mused, "Cause if not, I'd thought it be obvious? He gets a message to you, he gets a message out to the most important people in Starfleet."

"Or if something happens to you, the most important people in Starfleet will look into it," Carol added slowly, concern flickering in her blue eyes as she stared up at Adea.

Adea swallowed dryly as she glanced between the two of them, the cold creeping weight returning to her stomach. She looked up quickly as McCoy returned, a distant uneasiness in his expression remaining for a moment longer before it faded, his ever present concern returning.

"Lee, what is it?" Adea frowned, watching him as he approached.

"Nothing," McCoy sighed quickly, holding up silver scanner as he offered her a small smile, "Just, a long day."

"You can say that again," Carol sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned her head against Adea's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Adea pressed softly, raising a concerned brow at him.

"I think its the plane," McCoy sighed, sitting besides Adea as the device chirped on. "It'll pass. But at least this will help decrease today's list of uncertainties."

"I'm fine," Adea reminded, raising an eyebrow as McCoy rolled his eyes.

"Well here's another one for your list, Doctor. Looks like they identified the bastard," Scotty announced slowly, staring at his PADD, "Headquarters just sent out an alert."

"Who was it?" Carol asked, eyeing Scotty as his finger waved across the screen.

"Annnnnd...it's loading," Scotty huffed, rolling his eyes as he shook his head, frowning as Keenser tapped his screen.

Adea winced as McCoy's cool fingers brushed the skin of her waist, her side tensing uncomfortably.

"Easy there, Doctor," Adea grumbled quickly, slowly lifting the side of her shirt to expose the purple bruising stretching across her side.

"You're fine?" McCoy repeated, the frustration clear in his tone.

"Better than being electrocuted?" Adea offered.

"Fine, my ass, Adi," McCoy quipped in a low voice, shaking his head slowly as he began waving the scanner over her.

"Got it," Scotty announced, standing as he walked towards the three of them, Keenser in tow, "Commander John Harrison. Coerced a Starfleet officer into carrying out the attack. They're issuing a manhunt for him effective immediately throughout Federation Space."

"What?" McCoy muttered under his breath, pausing as he glanced up suddenly for the scanner.

"Is there photo?" Carol asked, moving to stand beside Scotty as he scanned further.

"Yeah, right h-" Scotty started, trailing off abruptly as he stared at the screen. He stared blankly at Carol as he offered her the PADD, a nervous look flickering in the blonde doctor's eyes as she took the device.

"What?" Adea asked, a cold uneasiness creeping into her stomach as Carol stared back at her.

"Adi, hold still for a second," McCoy huffed, "There's something weird going on with the scanner."

"What is it?" Adi pressed, glancing between Scotty and Carol.

"That man," Carol started shakily, "The man you just described. The one from the archive."

"Adi," McCoy started quietly, lowering the scanner as he eyed the screen incredulously, "What on Earth-"

"The man. What about him, Carol?" Adea pressed, her nervous confusion crumbling away as she saw the image, her blood running cold as the pale grey eyes stared back at her through the screen.

She stared up at Carol, her pulse pounding loudly in her heard as the room around her seemed to spin. _It was thing to assume_ _everything was linked…._ But this.

"That's him," Adea exhaled numbly, staring hard at the ground as the drumming in her ears became deafening.

"Are you sure?" Carol pressed.

"I'm certain," Adea confirmed.

"Adi, we have to do something," Carol started, "I can see if the pilot can connect us to my father-"

"Wait," Adea replied quickly, glancing slowly between her crewmates, "What if he's not acting alone? A single man couldn't take out an entire block of London. He must have had help. If you call your father from here, you risk someone else learning what we know or listening in on the call. You should talk to him in person when we land."

"I guess so," Carol sighed, glancing up from the PADD as she caught sight of bewildered concern in McCoy's eyes, "Doctor? What do you think?"

"Lee?" Adea questioned, lowering her shirt slowly as she stared back at the deepening crease between his brows, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"It's not possible," McCoy mumbled quietly, staring back at the scanner.

"What's not possible?" Adea frowned, eyeing McCoy warily.

"The scanner is used to detect internal injuries, by mapping the depth and severity of the injury," McCoy started, "You said debris hit you. Something with the force to knock you backwards and leave the bruise the that it did. Are you sure it was debris?"

"Of course it was. What else should it be?" Adea frowned, taking the scanner as McCoy enlarged the image.

She stared back at the scan, confusion flowing quickly towards panic as her side instinctively twinged. She stood up slowly, her eyes glued to the scanner as she made her way to the back of the cabin, memories from the attack flashing into her mind as she stared at the scan. She stumbled into the bathroom, the scanner nearly slipping out her hand as she sat it on the counter, flicking on the light besides the mirror. Her breath caught in her throat as she lifted her shirt slowly, the steady uneasiness constricting her chest giving away to sickening horror as she caught sight of the bruise, less distinct than the scan but nonetheless and unmistakably in the outline of a human hand.

* * *

**Confession Time: **

**1\. Easter eggs. I like them. They're fun ;) **

**2\. I do enjoy a good cliffhanger (for which, I feel I must apologize to Purplestan) **

**3\. There are 50 people following this story, and this week over 5000 views. I appreciate your support and enjoy hearing what you all think, so to respond to questions and comments left in reviews: **

**-Purplestan: **Good eye for spotting our favorite Archive ghost ;)  
**\- Says-the-Slytherin: **I'm glad reading it is as fun as writing it until 2 am some mornings. Glad you like it!  
**\- AmandaBaker852: **Twas tempting for something to happen to Adea, but alas I like her too much. Besides, poor Chekov would have been a wreck. Nyota would have been wracked with unresolved guilt. And Carol, Kirk, and Bones would have launched on a revenge-driven war path, potentially resulting in the torpedoing of Kronos ;) She'll be safe... for now ;)  
\- ** .2020: **I'm happy you enjoyed it :)  
\- **Magensby: **I know, right? Damn girl needs to treat that fine doctor of hers better.  
\- **x XRoweenaJAugustineX x: **Good to hear from you! And yes, I agree, Carol is a smart-ass guardian angel this world needs.  
**\- akagami hime chan: **All the Uhura-Ele sibling angst! More background and more of it to come ;)  
**\- lawsomeantics38: **Thank you for the support :) Who are her parents, hmmmm? *hobbles aways, tutting about Easter Eggs*  
-** ladyune30: **Glad you enjoyed it!

**And for those following and favoriting, glad you all like it! I look forward for hearing from you and enjoy!  
Til the next chapter, live long and prosper.  
-Case H.**


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